Title: What factors influence the decision of entrepreneurs in choosing a business incubator?

Authors: Luísa Carvalho; Adriana Backx Noronha Viana; Marcio Mine

Addresses: Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal and CEFAGE, Universidade de Évora, Portugal; ESCE, Campus do IPS, Estefanilha, 2014-503, Setúbal, Portugal ' Department of Business Management, School of Economics, Administration and Accounting, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 908, Room G175 – Cidade Universitária, CEP: 05508-010, São Paulo, SP, Brazil ' Rua Major Sertório, 557 – CEP: 01222-001, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Abstract: Often, start-ups reveal problems with asymmetric information that could be mitigated by a business incubator (BI). BIs can support new businesses, from creation through development and growth. This research aims to answer the follow research question: how is the decision-making of the incumbent firms influenced by the services and facilities offered by each BI? To achieve the objective of the research we used a sample of 39 start-ups incubated in Brazil and Portugal collected in Portugal (Lisbon) and Brazil (São Paulo). This study employs a survey to investigate how the decision of incubated start-ups for a BI were influenced by services and facilities available there. Descriptive statistics and correlation tests between the phases of the incubation process were applied. The results suggest the existence of a coherent relation between the incumbents' decisions on a BI and the services offered.

Keywords: business incubator; incubatees; incumbent; decision-making factors; services and facilities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIRD.2020.110526

International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 2020 Vol.9 No.2, pp.137 - 157

Received: 17 Aug 2019
Accepted: 18 May 2020
Published online: 22 Oct 2020 *

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