A Systematic Review of Business Incubation Research
A Systematic Review of Business Incubation Research
Sean M. Hackett1 2 David M. Dilts
ABSTRACT. This article systematically reviews the literature on business incubators and business incubation. Focusing on the primary research orientations—i.e. studies centering on incubator development, incubator configurations, incubatee development, incubator-incubation impacts, and theorizing about incubators-incubation—problems with extant research are analyzed and opportunities for future research are identified. From our review, it is clear that research has just begun to scratch the surface of the incubator-incubation phenomenon. While much attention has been devoted to the description of incubator facilities, less attention has been focused on the incubatees, the innovations they seek to diffuse, and the incubation outcomes that have been achieved. As interest in the incubator-incubation concept continues to grow, new research efforts should focus not only on these under-researched units of analysis, but also on the incubation process itself. JEL Classification: M13, O2, O31, O32, O38
1. Introduction Incubator-incubation research began in earnest in 1984 with the promulgation of the results of Business Incubator Profiles: A National Survey (Temali and Campbell, 1984). Underscoring the enthusiasm of early researchers, only three years passed before two literature reviews were generated (i.e., Campbell and Allen, 1987; Kuratko and LaFollette, 1987). However, since these early efforts to synthesize and analyze the state of incubator-incubation science, and despite the fact that the body of research has grown considerably
1 Vanderbilt University Management of Technology Program Box 1518, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 USA E-mail: sean.m.hackett@alumni.vanderbilt.edu 2 Vanderbilt University Management of Technology Program Box 1518, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 USA E-mail: david.m.dilts@vanderbilt.edu
in the intervening years, a systematic review of the literature
Sean M. Hackett1 2 David M. Dilts
ABSTRACT. This article systematically reviews the literature on business incubators and business incubation. Focusing on the primary research orientations—i.e. studies centering on incubator development, incubator configurations, incubatee development, incubator-incubation impacts, and theorizing about incubators-incubation—problems with extant research are analyzed and opportunities for future research are identified. From our review, it is clear that research has just begun to scratch the surface of the incubator-incubation phenomenon. While much attention has been devoted to the description of incubator facilities, less attention has been focused on the incubatees, the innovations they seek to diffuse, and the incubation outcomes that have been achieved. As interest in the incubator-incubation concept continues to grow, new research efforts should focus not only on these under-researched units of analysis, but also on the incubation process itself. JEL Classification: M13, O2, O31, O32, O38
1. Introduction Incubator-incubation research began in earnest in 1984 with the promulgation of the results of Business Incubator Profiles: A National Survey (Temali and Campbell, 1984). Underscoring the enthusiasm of early researchers, only three years passed before two literature reviews were generated (i.e., Campbell and Allen, 1987; Kuratko and LaFollette, 1987). However, since these early efforts to synthesize and analyze the state of incubator-incubation science, and despite the fact that the body of research has grown considerably
1 Vanderbilt University Management of Technology Program Box 1518, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 USA E-mail: sean.m.hackett@alumni.vanderbilt.edu 2 Vanderbilt University Management of Technology Program Box 1518, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 USA E-mail: david.m.dilts@vanderbilt.edu
in the intervening years, a systematic review of the literature