The Role of Incubators and Maker Spaces in Facilitating Entrepreneurial Growth: A Stakeholder View

Abstract

Innovation and entrepreneurship seldom thrive in isolation; it usually requires interconnected networks of partners. For entrepreneurs with good technology lacking these networks, incubators and maker spaces provide a possible support mechanism for access to partners and non-technological resources. Yet, these relatively recent approaches to supporting technology entrepreneurship are still evolving. Entrepreneurial acceleration is a fast-emerging form of early-stage venture support linking innovative start-ups to resources for entrepreneurial growth. While sharing common structural elements and components, entrepreneurial acceleration programs differ widely in resource exchange depending on their stakeholders. Specifically, this study identifies and analyzes four stakeholder types, namely investor-based, corporate-based, university-based and government-based stakeholders in accelerators, and six major characterizing variables that express their peculiarities in value creation and value capture. Special care is given to impact of technology and technological innovation. Our findings open-up opportunities for understanding the impact of dominant stakeholders on knowledge creation and entrepreneurial growth.