IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jtecht/v38y2013i3p302-331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A control group study of incubators’ impact to promote firm survival

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Schwartz

    ()

Abstract

It is widely unclear as to whether start-up firms supported by publicly-initiated incubator initiatives have higher survival rates than comparable start-up firms that have not received support by such initiatives. This paper contributes to the underlying discussion by performing a large-scale matched-pairs analysis of the long-term survival of 371 incubator firms (after their graduation) from five German incubators and a control group of 371 comparable non-incubated firms. The analysis covers a 10-year time span. To account for the problem of selection bias, a non-parametric matching approach is applied to identify an appropriate control group. For neither of the five incubator locations, we find statistically significant higher survival probabilities for firms located in incubators compared to firms located outside those incubator organizations. For three incubator locations the analysis reveals statistically significant lower chances of survival for those start-ups receiving support by an incubator. The empirical results, therefore, raise some doubts regarding the impacts of incubation on long-term firm survival. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Schwartz, 2013. "A control group study of incubators’ impact to promote firm survival," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 302-331, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:38:y:2013:i:3:p:302-331
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-012-9254-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10961-012-9254-y
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Link, Albert N. & Scott, John T., 2003. "U.S. science parks: the diffusion of an innovation and its effects on the academic missions of universities," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(9), pages 1323-1356, November.
    2. Wagner, S. & Cockburn, I., 2010. "Patents and the survival of Internet-related IPOs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 214-228, March.
    3. Richard Ferguson & Christer Olofsson, 2004. "Science Parks and the Development of NTBFs-- Location, Survival and Growth," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 5-17, January.
    4. P. A. Geroski & José Mata & Pedro Portugal, 2010. "Founding conditions and the survival of new firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 510-529, May.
    5. Slavo Radosevic & Marat Myrzakhmet, 2006. "Between vision and reality: promoting innovation through technoparks in Kazakhstan," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 66, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    6. Yang, Chih-Hai & Motohashi, Kazuyuki & Chen, Jong-Rong, 2009. "Are new technology-based firms located on science parks really more innovative?: Evidence from Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 77-85, February.
    7. Harald Strotmann, 2007. "Entrepreneurial Survival," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 87-104, January.
    8. Ensley, Michael D. & Pearson, Allison W. & Amason, Allen C., 2002. "Understanding the dynamics of new venture top management teams: cohesion, conflict, and new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 365-386, July.
    9. Michael Schwartz, 2009. "Beyond incubation: an analysis of firm survival and exit dynamics in the post-graduation period," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 403-421, August.
    10. Michael Schwartz & Maximilian Göthner, 2009. "A Multidimensional Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Incubators: An Application of the PROMETHEE Outranking Method," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 27(6), pages 1072-1087, December.
    11. Maximilian Zedtwitz & Rosa Grimaldi, 2006. "Are Service Profiles Incubator-Specific? Results from an Empirical Investigation in Italy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 459-468, July.
    12. Cefis, Elena & Marsili, Orietta, 2006. "Survivor: The role of innovation in firms' survival," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 626-641, June.
    13. Mahoney, Joseph T., 1995. "The management of resources and the resource of management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 91-101, June.
    14. Mariagrazia Squicciarini, 2008. "Science Parks’ tenants versus out-of-Park firms: who innovates more? A duration model," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 45-71, February.
    15. Fukugawa, Nobuya, 2006. "Science parks in Japan and their value-added contributions to new technology-based firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 381-400, March.
    16. Sean Hackett & David Dilts, 2008. "Inside the black box of business incubation: Study B—scale assessment, model refinement, and incubation outcomes," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 33(5), pages 439-471, October.
    17. Phillip Phan & Donald S. Siegel & Mike Wright, 2016. "Science Parks and Incubators: Observations, Synthesis and Future Research," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Phillip H Phan & Sarfraz A Mian & Wadid Lamine (ed.),TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS INCUBATION Theory • Practice • Lessons Learned, chapter 9, pages 249-272, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. Almus, Matthias & Nerlinger, Eric A, 1999. "Growth of New Technology-Based Firms: Which Factors Matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 141-154, September.
    19. Rothaermel, Frank T. & Thursby, Marie, 2005. "Incubator firm failure or graduation?: The role of university linkages," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1076-1090, September.
    20. Zoltán J. Ács & Catherine Armington & Ting Zhang, 2015. "The determinants of new-firm survival across regional economies: The role of human capital stock and knowledge spillover," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 18, pages 344-368, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Scott Shane & Toby Stuart, 2002. "Organizational Endowments and the Performance of University Start-ups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(1), pages 154-170, January.
    22. Rudy Aernoudt, 2004. "Incubators: Tool for Entrepreneurship?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 127-135, September.
    23. Siegel, Donald S & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2003. "Science Parks and the Performance of New Technology-Based Firms: A Review of Recent U.K. Evidence and an Agenda for Future Research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 177-184, March.
    24. Albert N. Link & Donald S. Siegel & Barry Bozeman, 2007. "An empirical analysis of the propensity of academics to engage in informal university technology transfer ," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 641-655, August.
    25. Colombo, Massimo G. & Delmastro, Marco, 2002. "How effective are technology incubators?: Evidence from Italy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1103-1122, September.
    26. Michael Fritsch & Pamela Mueller, 2004. "Effects of New Business Formation on Regional Development over Time," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(8), pages 961-975.
    27. Geroski, P. A., 1995. "What do we know about entry?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 421-440, December.
    28. Peter Bearse, 1998. "A Question of Evaluation: NBIA's Impact Assessment of Business Incubators," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 12(4), pages 322-333, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chaffik Bakkali & Karim Messeghem & Gérald Naro & Sylvie Sammut, 2014. "Le Balanced Scorecard Dans Une Approche Constructiviste : Le Cas Des Incubateurs," Post-Print hal-01899216, HAL.
    2. Sarah Cheah & Yuen-Ping Ho, 2019. "Coworking and Sustainable Business Model Innovation in Young Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, Open Access Journal, vol. 11(10), pages 1-1, May.
    3. Frank J. Van Rijnsoever & Marijn A. Van Weele & Chris P. Eveleens, 2017. "Network brokers or hit makers? Analyzing the influence of incubation on start-up investments," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 605-629, June.
    4. Karlson, Nils & Sandström, Christian & Wennberg, Karl, 2020. "Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? – A critique of the entrepreneurial state," Ratio Working Papers 331, The Ratio Institute.
    5. Del Sarto, Nicola & Isabelle, Diane A. & Di Minin, Alberto, 2020. "The role of accelerators in firm survival: An fsQCA analysis of Italian startups," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 90.
    6. van Weele, Marijn & van Rijnsoever, Frank J. & Nauta, Frans, 2017. "You can't always get what you want: How entrepreneur's perceived resource needs affect the incubator's assertiveness," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 18-33.
    7. Gaofetoge Ntshadi Ganamotse & Mikael Samuelsson & Ruth, M. Abankwah & Tibaingana Anthony & Thuso Mphela, 2017. "The Emerging Properties of Business Accelerators: The Case of Botswana, Namibia and Uganda Global Business Labs," The Journal of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 3(1), pages 16-40, January.
    8. José Ignacio Rivero, 2015. "Impact of Incubation on Innovative Firms," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0315, Department of Economics - dECON.
    9. Samwel Alananga Sanga & Justine Mselle, 2018. "Informal Construction Practices as Knowledge Incubators: A Conceptual Framework," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 13-37, March.
    10. Mas-Verdú, Francisco & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Roig-Tierno, Norat, 2015. "Firm survival: The role of incubators and business characteristics," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 793-796.
    11. Isabel Diez-Vial & Angeles Montoro-Sanchez, 2017. "Research evolution in science parks and incubators: foundations and new trends," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1243-1272, March.
    12. Radosław Wolniak & Michalene Eva Grebski & Bożena Skotnicka-Zasadzień, 2019. "Comparative Analysis of the Level of Satisfaction with the Services Received at the Business Incubators (Hazleton, PA, USA and Gliwice, Poland)," Sustainability, MDPI, Open Access Journal, vol. 11(10), pages 1-1, May.
    13. Frank J. Van Rijnsoever & Marijn A. Van Weele & Chris P. Eveleens, 0. "Network brokers or hit makers? Analyzing the influence of incubation on start-up investments," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-25.
    14. Caren Klingbeil & Thorsten Semrau, 2017. "For whom size matters – the interplay between incubator size, tenant characteristics and tenant growth," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(7), pages 735-752, October.
    15. Klofsten, Magnus & Lundmark, Erik & Wennberg, Karl & Bank, Megan, 2019. "Incubator specialization and size: divergent paths towards operational scale," Ratio Working Papers 326, The Ratio Institute.
    16. Catarina Roseira & Carla Ramos & Francisco Maia, 2014. "Understanding Incubator Value – A Network Approach to University Incubators," FEP Working Papers 532, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    17. J. Piet Hausberg & Sabrina Korreck, 2020. "Business incubators and accelerators: a co-citation analysis-based, systematic literature review," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 151-176, February.
    18. Oscarina Conceição & Ana Paula Faria, 2014. "Determinants of research-based spin-offs survival," NIPE Working Papers 21/2014, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    19. Pauwels, Charlotte & Clarysse, Bart & Wright, Mike & Van Hove, Jonas, 2016. "Understanding a new generation incubation model: The accelerator," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 50, pages 13-24.
    20. Domenico Nicolò, 2018. "Carenze informative e vulnerabilità delle imprese giovani: il ruolo del business plan," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(2 Suppl.), pages 37-52.
    21. Chris P. Eveleens & Frank J. Rijnsoever & Eva M. M. I. Niesten, 2017. "How network-based incubation helps start-up performance: a systematic review against the background of management theories," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 676-713, June.
    22. Bruna, Maria Giuseppina & Nicolò, Domenico, 2020. "Corporate reputation and social sustainability in the early stages of start-ups: A theoretical model to match stakeholders' expectations through corporate social commitment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    23. Jin Hong & Jinfeng Lu, 2016. "Assessing the effectiveness of business incubators in fostering SMEs: evidence from China," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 20(1/2), pages 45-60.
    24. Marijn van Weele & Frank J. Rijnsoever & Chris P. Eveleens & Henk Steinz & Niels Stijn & Menno Groen, 2018. "Start-EU-up! Lessons from international incubation practices to address the challenges faced by Western European start-ups," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 1161-1189, October.
    25. Fidelis A. Ayatse & Nguwasen Kwahar & Akuraun S. Iyortsuun, 2017. "Business incubation process and firm performance: an empirical review," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Incubation; Business incubators; Firm survival; Hazard rates; Control group; Technology policy; L26; O38;

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:38:y:2013:i:3:p:302-331. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Sonal Shukla) or (Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.