Knowledge-Sharing in Technology Business Incubator.

Given the economic growth challenges facing countries all around the world, the importance of the initiative of technology business incubators in developing the economic growth of a country has been recognized. Technology business incubators are included in many of the processes that support economic growth, such as job creation and developing innovative technologies. This research paper with data result showing an examined conceptual model for technology business incubators. The model examined how the knowledge-sharing practices impact technology business incubator performance in Saudi Arabia. The outcome of this research is helpful; it will make better understanding for technology business incubators to provide better articulate in the incubation functions

Factors impacting technology business incubator performance

© 2019 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd. Technology business incubators support economic growth by developing innovative technologies. However, assessing the performance of technology business incubators in Saudi Arabia has not been well recognised. This study provides a conceptual framework for assessing technology business incubators based on knowledge sharing practices and sharing, diffusion of innovation and individual creativity. Partial least squares structural equation modelling, such as (PLS-SEM) path modelling was used to test the model. The results provide empirical insights about the performance of technology business incubators. The findings show knowledge donation and collection has positive effects on technology business incubator. The importance-performance map analysis shows additional findings and conclusions for managerial actions

The influence of the knowledge-sharing process on technology business incubator performance in Saudi Arabia

In the competitive global market, technology business incubators are considered to be the backbone of the economic development of a country. Technology business incubators are involved in the creation of employment opportunities, boosting the local economy, and commercializing innovative technologies. This research-in-progress will propose a framework for technology business incubators to examine the impact of the knowledge-sharing practices of incubatees on technology business incubator performance both in general and in Saudi Arabia in particular. The key findings of this study will allow technology business incubators to better formulate the incubation process

The Learning Evaluation of Business Incubator's Role in Developing Technology-Based Startups at Technology Business Incubator

Abstract. Technology-based startup plays a vital role in improving the Indonesian economy. There are thousands of units of technology-based startups, though most of them are not adequately sustainable. The inadequacy is attributed to the fact that the products or services created are not in line with market needs and do not help understand business processes. Universities play an essential role in developing startups through business incubators to compete in the digital age. There is no conducive learning environment for business incubators in Indonesia, though the national standards are used. This research evaluates the learning process in a Technology Business Incubator in Bandung University using case study methods. Data is collected by performing in-depth interviews with three incubator managers and seven startup founders or tenants who have completed the incubation process. The business industry consists of education, design, printing, and fishery, while the interviews cover the process before, during, and after incubation, including the tenant's selection criteria and stages, learning processes in incubators and facilities, after graduation programs, and measurement of the impacts. The results show that the practices fit the ideal conditions, including training-focused and knowledge sharing session programs or skills, knowledge provisions, and expertise improvement programs for tenants, rental system facilities for graduates, and commercialization support. Furthermore, there are opportunities to improve several aspects, including developing tenant admission selection criteria, effective learning approaches, coaching, networking, and broader funding, graduation criteria, monitoring for graduates, and a more comprehensive range of impact measurement. This research helps guide business incubators to prioritizedeveloping aspects of services. Moreover, evaluation using the mixed method is open for further investigation.                                                                                                                                  Keywords:  Business Incubator, Pre-incubation, Main incubation, Post-incubation, Startup, Learning Evaluatio

Factors contributing to visible performance in Saudi technology incubators

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.In today’s competitive global market, technology business incubators are considered the backbone of a region’s economic development, involved in the creation of employment opportunities, boosting the local economy and commercializing, particularly as regard innovative technologies. In Saudi Arabia, incubators are working to develop innovative businesses with the potential to contribute to the nation’s technological growth. The goal of Saudi incubators is to focus on technology innovations. These incubators contribute to knowledge-based programs that produce opportunities that will help transform the country into a knowledge-based society and, in turn, contribute to a knowledge-based economy. With the development of a knowledge-based economy, incubators are considered viable business entities to generate products arise from a veritable mix of innovation, knowledge and its management within the incubators. For the success and performance to ensure survival of an incubator, the transfer of tacit knowledge is very important. Universities play a key role in transferring tacit knowledge into explicit form. In the context of university-based technology incubators, the university facilitates knowledge flows to the incubator through academics and processes. Thus, incubators play a vital role as a catalyst for economic development by ongoing knowledge transfer. This research explores the major factors influencing Saudi technology incubators’ performance. It examines factors that include knowledge sharing, individual creativity and innovation diffusion. Based on existing theories and extensive related studies, the conceptual model of this study was conducted. This study adopts a mixed method approach (quantitative and qualitative) through two stages. First, the quantitative approach was conducted to empirically investigate the factors’ relationships in the proposed model through applying survey instrument. Second, the qualitative approach was applied in order to validate the quantitative results and present more insights into the identified factors’ relations with the conceptual model. The study shows that phase one (quantitative) of the research supports all the identified relations of the hypotheses of knowledge sharing organizational and individual factors, knowledge-sharing process (donation and collection), individual creativity and diffusion of innovation except H1b, H3a, H4a, H9 and H10 hypotheses that clarified as following:- H1b- Management support positively impacts knowledge sharing collection H3a- Rewards positively impacts knowledge sharing donation. H4a- Interpersonal trust positively impacts knowledge sharing donation. H9- Expertise positively impacts technology incubator performance. H10- Creative thinking skills positively impact technology incubator performance. The second phase (qualitative) of the research generated mixed findings. Most of qualitative phase findings endorse the quantitative results. On the other hand, some of these findings do not endorse the quantitative results, however they support the proposed hypotheses in the actual research. Finally, the study concludes and presents the current research and practices

Performance factors for successful business incubators in Indonesian public universities

Measuring the performance of business processes is already a main concern for both faculty and enterprise players, since organizations are motivated to reach the productivity stage. Employing a performance achievement framework for the relationship between business incubator success factors will guarantee connection with commercial schemes, which support a high level of performance indicators in successful business incubator models. This research employs a quantitative approach, with the data analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 23 and Smart PLS version 3 statistical software packages. Employing a sample of 95 incubator managers from 19 universities which geographically located in Indonesia, it is shown that the image of business incubator factors has a positive effect on incubator performance. The study investigates the relationship between incubator performance and business incubator success factors in Indonesia. It was found that IT, as part of the business incubators’ facets/abilities, partially supports their performance; that the entry criteria directly support the performance of the incubators; that mentoring networks also support the performance, with good infrastructure systems as a moderating factor; that funding supports the performance of business incubators, also with good infrastructure systems as a moderating factor; and that university regulations and government support and protection enhance the performance of business incubators, with credits and rewards as a moderating factor. In addition, a variety of indicators from the local context affiliate positively to promote a community that highlighted the incubators’ strategies.N/

Realizing Potential: The Impact of Business Incubation upon the Absorptive Capacity of New Technology Based Firms

This article explores the potential of university technology business incubators to enhance the absorptive capacity of new technology-based firms. The research pursues three critical themes: it employs the absorptive capacity construct to analyse and evaluate the potential of incubation to strengthen the business model of new technology firms. It then explores the interaction between founders and incubator directors, mentors and business advisers to assess how this might enhance absorptive capacity. Finally, it indicates how such interactions can facilitate the transition from potential to realised absorptive capacity. The article interrogates the incubation process by using the absorptive capacity framework to evaluate how it might strengthen the business model of new technology firms. The qualitative findings suggest that where founders, advisers, mentors and incubator directors engage collaboratively to create an iterative dialogue which informs the development of a viable business model, the process by which potential absorptive capacity can be fully realised is substantially strengthened

Technology business incubators as engines of growth: towards a distinction between technology incubators and non-technology incubators

Business incubators are an increasingly popular tool for promoting job and wealth creation. Yet given the heterogeneity of incubation models, it is not always clear how incubators operate, what their main characteristics are and how can they best contribute to job and wealth creation. If technology is central in promoting economic growth and new firm creation the crucial mechanism in transferring new knowledge to markets, then technology incubators have the biggest potential to contribute to economic growth. We define technology incubators by their strategic choices in terms of mission, linkages to universities and geographical location. We investigate their nature by comparing the levels of business services provision, selection criteria, exit policy and tenants’ characteristics. Our sample includes 12 incubators located in six Northwestern European countries and a total of 101 incubated companies. Data were collected in both incubators and among their tenants. Results show that technology incubators provide more tenants with their services, select younger companies and practice stricter exit policies. Additionally, they tend to attract more experienced teams of entrepreneurs. Our main contribution is a better understanding of the technology incubators impact against the remainder population of business incubators. We speculate that incubators not focussed in incubating technology might not be contributing to company creation at all. Further, the low levels of service provision are both a product and a consequence of slack selection criteria and weak exit policies. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings to business incubator managers, policy makers and prospective tenants

Compartilhamento do conhecimento em ambientes de inovação: um estudo em uma incubadora de empresas de base tecnológica

The aim of this article was to investigate how the knowledge sharing process occurs in a technology-based business incubator. It is an exploratory-descriptive research with a qualitative approach. The method used was the case study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, whose script was developed from the identification of elements of knowledge sharing models found in the literature visited. The research subjects correspond to the managers of the incubated companies and the manager of the business incubator under study. The results reveal that knowledge sharing, in this innovation habitat, is motivated by factors such as: understandable, valid, and useful knowledge; communication skills; ability to absorb and apply and/or use knowledge; importance of knowledge; abilities to elaborate questions; culture; structure and layout; opportunities to share knowledge; credibility of the source; and partnerships. They also indicate that there are factors that need to be leveraged because they do not have the expected results.O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar como ocorre o processo de compartilhamento do conhecimento em uma incubadora de empresas de base tecnológica. É uma pesquisa exploratória-descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa. O método utilizado foi o estudo de caso. Os dados foram coletados a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas, cujo roteiro foi desenvolvido a partir da identificação dos elementos dos modelos de compartilhamento do conhecimento encontrados na literatura visitada. Os sujeitos da pesquisa correspondem aos gestores das empresas incubadas e gerente da incubadora de empresas em estudo. Os resultados revelam que o compartilhamento do conhecimento, nesse habitat de inovação, é motivado por fatores como: conhecimentos compreensíveis, válidos e úteis; habilidades de comunicação; capacidade de absorção e aplicação e/ou utilização dos conhecimentos; importância dos conhecimentos; habilidades de elaborar questionamentos; cultura; estrutura e layout; oportunidades para compartilhar conhecimento; credibilidade da fonte; e parcerias. Indicam também que existem fatores que precisam ser potencializados em razão de não exercerem os resultados esperados

Are Business Incubators helping? The role of BIs in facilitating tenants’ development

Business incubators (BI) are among a variety of initiatives to stimulate economic growth by promoting the creation and development of new companies. The rapid growth of BIs in recent years confirms their importance in the economic fabric. In this study, we conceptualize BIs using insights from knowledge based theory of the firm, resource-based view thinking and capabilities literature. BIs will be seen as service providers geared towards helping their tenants in solving developmental problems. The more problems the BI helps to solve the bigger the incubation value for tenants; further, as tenant firms solve problems they develop important capabilities which will yield increase their chances of survival once they graduate. Results show that tenants unequivocally seek support after experiencing problems. Solving those problems is a function of BI support and other external sources part of each tenant firm’s network of contacts. Age and human capital of tenant firms have a negative impact in the total number of the problems solved, suggesting BIs’ deficiencies in helping more experienced and older tenants. Our main contribution is to shed light on the processes of delivering support to young firms within BIs. Importantly, we assess the value of the BIs’ intervention by measuring the amount of developmental problems they help tenants to overcome. Finally, we discuss the implication of our finding to BI managers, prospective tenants and policy makers