The Functioning of Business Incubators in the Scope of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory: Construct Framework

Abstract

Business incubators play a crucial role in influencing the start-up ecosystem to impact the economic output. Given the myriad number of factors affecting the functioning of the start-ups, studying the influence of the factors and the interdependence between them is ongoing. The present literature survey predominantly focuses on research gaps, cited as limitations in the research articles on various facets of the start-up ecosystem. The review identifies and consolidates the predominantly cited factors, grouped as sub-factors of major factors, start-up resources, money support, market connect, incubator resources, and government resources forming a two-tier framework. The review highlights the contradicting implications on the effect of the sub factors and the interdependent effects reported. The implication of the review is the identification of a set of factors that must be considered for the services to be provided by the business incubators.