Title: Incubators, networks, and their performance: an in-depth case study in Taiwan

Authors: Tai-Shan Hu; Su-Li Chang; Kuang-Chieh Chen

Addresses: Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chung-Hua University, No. 707, Sec. 2, WuFu Rd., Hsinchu City, 300, Taiwan ' Graduate Institute of Technology Management, Chung-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan ' Department of Civil Engineering, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

Abstract: The studies show that business incubators have an important role in promoting innovative entrepreneurship and economic growth. Taiwanese industries, comprised mainly of small to medium sized businesses, have faced challenges of industrial innovation and restructuring in recent years. Of the many industrial technology policies that the Taiwan Government has adopted to facilitate industrial transformation, the establishment of incubators has been the most effective policy for assisting innovative small to mid-size businesses. This research studies the performance of incubators, the determinants of their success, and the degree and characteristics of networking among incubators. This study reveals that, like a comprehensive institutional R&D system, high-level networked interactions positively affect the number of successfully assisted businesses and indirectly influence the number of jobs created. Networked interactions are highly dependent on recruitment by high-level networking incubators. However, this study finds that innovation incubators in Taiwan limit interactive relationships within a formal network, especially in the high-tech region.

Keywords: innovation networks; incubator performance; networked incubators; business incubators; incubator networks; case study; Taiwan; entrepreneurship; economic growth; small and medium-sized businesses; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2015.071230

International Journal of Business Environment, 2015 Vol.7 No.3, pp.281 - 301

Received: 24 Mar 2015
Accepted: 17 May 2015
Published online: 17 Aug 2015 *

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