Academy Driven Innovative Entrepreneurship: Empirical Research on the Evolving Role of Incubation Mechanisms

Today, many vibrant regions of the world are focusing on the development of their knowledge-based economies. This requires policies and mechanisms to successfully develop and commercialize new knowledge and technologies, in particular through the creation and development of innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

This research is motivated by the current and future importance of the academy’s role in supporting this effort. By definition, technology business incubation is a knowledge-based economic development concept employed by some ‘entrepreneurial universities’ who strategically engage in activities that support the nurturing of science and technology-based firms and new products, through collaborative regional efforts.

Over the past several decades there has been an emerging body of knowledge and worldwide experiential learning in the field of university technology business incubation (UTBI). Therefore, it is imperative that in this knowledge-based competitive economy these ‘entrepreneurial universities’ develop enabling value-adding instincts for science and technology oriented entrepreneurs in support of their innovative firms through improved understanding of the policies, practices and tools of technology business incubation, required for quality program development.

The presentation will chronicle several of the innovative university incubation programs that have been recognized as important contributors in technological change and regional economic development in their respective technology and related business domains with numerous overlapping activities. These emerging programs will be highlighted and explored, providing useful insights and lessons. In summary, a central goal of this presentation is to distil the diverse body of UTBI knowledge into a more consumable form that is linked to the research findings and practices that work.