New business ideas incubation process: some exploratory findings of three Portuguese business incubation programs

Abstract

The ever increasing competition in which firms operate at a global scale and the need to shift the type of economic growth have led countries to adopt instruments that give them a competitive advantage and deliver growth based on entrepreneurship and innovation. One instrument is the incubation of new business ideas, where incubators play a relevant role in helping firms to survive and grow during their initial stages. This chapter analyzes and discusses the incubation process in three different types of business incubators in Portugal, describing their modus operandi, the relationship with the incubatees, and the results obtained. The main findings are the three incubators are focused on stimulating entrepreneurship, new business ideas and innovation, and are concerned in being a facilitator agent of the success of those new projects; however, some differences might be seen among these incubators, namely in terms of criteria used to select the new business ideas or projects, the support services provided to the incubatees, the incubation period, and the type of projects supported.