Rosado-Cube o, Ana; He nández, Adol o; Blanco Jiménez, F ancisco José; F ei e-
Rubio, Te esa
A icle
Seeding young en ep eneu s: The ole o business
incuba o s
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge (JIK)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Else ie
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Rosado-Cube o, Ana; He nández, Adol o; Blanco Jiménez, F ancisco José; F ei e-
Rubio, Te esa (2024) : Seeding young en ep eneu s: The ole o business incuba o s, Jou nal o
Inno a ion & Knowledge (JIK), ISSN 2444-569X, Else ie , Ams e dam, Vol. 9, Iss. 4, pp. 1-14,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jik.2024.100579
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
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Seeding young en ep eneu s: The ole o business incuba o s
Ana Rosado-Cube o
a,
*, Adol o He n
andez
b
, F ancisco Jos
e Blanco-Jim
enez
c
,
Te esa F ei e-Rubio
d
a
Complu ense Uni e si y o Mad id, Facul y o Comme ce and Tou ism, A . Filipinas, 3. 28003 Mad id, Spain
b
Uni e sidad Complu ense de Mad id, Depa men o Financial & Ac ua ial Economics & S a is ics, Facul y o Comme ce and Tou ism, A . Filipinas, 3. 28003
Mad id, Spain
c
Uni e sidad Rey Juan Ca los, Facul y o Social Sciences and Law, Edificio Depa amen al. Campus de Vic
al a o, P.° de los A ille os, 38, 28032 Mad id. Spain
d
ESIC, business&ma ke ingschool, A da. Valdenig ales s/n 28223 Pozuelo de Ala c
on Mad id, Spain
ARTICLE INFO
A icle His o y:
Recei ed 11 Ma ch 2024
Accep ed 17 Sep embe 2024
A ailable online 4 Oc obe 2024
ABSTRACT
This s udy ocusses on young en ep eneu s and conside s he ex en o business incuba o s’impac on he
de elopmen and isibili y o p ojec s headed by young people. To do so, we analyse incuba o s’ ole as eco-
sys ems o en ep eneu ship in Spain based on he 2023 Funcas su ey. Fi s , we ca ego ised incuba o s
acco ding o en ep eneu s’age, defining young incuba o s as hose in which mos o he businesses a e un
by indi iduals unde 35, excluding hose o e ha age. We analyse a iables ha include he se ices o e ed
and he equency o e en s o aining wi hin he incuba o s o de e mine which app oaches benefi o
ha m young en ep eneu s. This s udy uses a s a is ical app oach, wi h quan i a i e da a om he ques ion-
nai e as a s a ing poin o cha ac e ise and iden i y young en ep eneu ial p ofiles in business incuba o s.
We de elop and es wo hypo heses using he chi-squa ed es , which is a non-pa ame ic (dis ibu ion
ee) echnique. Finally, we include a b ie analysis o young en ep eneu s’pe sonali y ai s o shed ligh on
some defining cha ac e is ics, concluding ha pe sonal ini ia i e is a key ea u e amongs en ep eneu s
unde he age o 35. We conclude ha he incuba o sys em in Spain ha ms young en ep eneu s and p o-
pose some ele an ecommenda ions o e e se his end.
© 2024 The Au ho s. Published by Else ie España, S.L.U. on behal o Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge. This
is an open access a icle unde he CC BY-NC-ND license
(h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Keywo ds:
Young en ep eneu s
Business incuba o s
En ep eneu ial aining
JEL:
L26
M13
In oduc ion
I is gene ally accep ed ha en ep eneu ial ac i i y p omo es
economic g ow h and de elopmen , o e ing an a ac i e ins umen
o inno a ion (Aghion, 2017;Galindo & M
endez-Picazo, 2013;
Ribei o-So iano, 2017). To mode nise u al a eas, policy make s p o-
mo e egional de elopmen h ough business incuba o s as mecha-
nisms o nu u ing and c ea ing alue o socie y (Lin-Lian e al.,
2022a and b).
Fo una ely, he end o lack o s udies conce ning business
incuba o s has e e sed since he ini ial s udies ob ained limi ed
and con adic o y esul s (Albo -Mo an & Ribei o-So iano, 2016).
Recen esea ch has demons a ed he ole o incuba o s in de el-
oping business models o s uden s du ing aining (F ei e-Rubio &
Rosado-Cube o, 2015;Muslim Sa ai eh, 2021), how incuba o s
acili a e en ep eneu ne wo ks (Busch & Ba kema, 2022)and he
inc eased numbe o people employed (Dlamini e al., 2022). Incu-
ba o s’influence on egional de elopmen has la gely been ound
o be posi i e (Johannisson & Nilsson, 1989;Law on Smi h, 1996;
Laukkanen, 2000;Bennewo h, 2004;Mu ingani e al., 2021;Mada-
leno e al., 2022).
In addi ion o incuba o s’influence on economic de elopmen ,
he suppo o en ep eneu ial ecosys ems is a no el way o p omo e
suppo i e en ep eneu ial en i onmen s. En ep eneu ial ecosys-
ems ha e been in es iga ed o unde s anding he con ex o en e-
p eneu ship a he mac o le el o he o ganisa ional communi y
(S am & an de Ven, 2021). Some s udies ha e demons a ed how a
ich en ep eneu ial ecosys em suppo s en ep eneu ship and sub-
sequen alue c ea ion a he egional le el; o ins ance, de eloping
a dynamic en ep eneu ial ecosys em li ecycle model ocused on he
in e nal comme cialisa ion o knowledge (Can ne e al., 2021).
Ano he s udy defined he ollowing axonomy: fi s , he incuba o
manage s de elop confidence among local companies o associa ion.
Second, when companies ‘g adua e’(launch in o he eal wo k).
Thi d, building us in he incuba o in which a egion becomes
ex emely ac i e in business and new s a -up en e p ises ha
* Co esponding au ho a : Facul y o comme ce and ou ism, Complu ense Uni e -
si y Mad id.
E-mail add esses: [email p o ec ed] (A. Rosado-Cube o), [email p o ec ed]
(A. He n
andez), [email p o ec ed] (F.J. Blanco-Jim
enez), ma ia e esa. ei e@esic.
edu (T. F ei e-Rubio).
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jik.2024.100579
2444-569X/© 2024 The Au ho s. Published by Else ie España, S.L.U. on behal o Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge. This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY-NC-ND license
(h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100579
Jou nal o Inno a ion
&Knowledge
h ps://www.jou nals.else ie .com/jou nal-o -inno a ion-and-knowledge
equi e he incuba o ’s se ices appea (Rosado-Cube o e al., 2023).
Incuba o s ha ac as seeds o an en ep eneu ial ecosys em can be
use ul o encou aging young people o s a businesses.
An impo an aspec o he en ep eneu ial p ocess is ela ed o
go e nmen s’ ole in he ea ly s ages o an ecosys em’s de elopmen .
I is inadequa e o iden i y leading en ep eneu s o help hem ne -
wo k, and adi ional g an s and subsidies may educe he en ep e-
neu ial co e a he han encou age i , go e nmen s do no possess
he igh skillse o capabili ies o ad ise o men o en ep eneu s
(Mason & B own, 2014). Howe e , s ong skills and knowledge bases
(i.e. app en iceship schemes, en ep eneu ship educa ion and uni e -
si y esea ch) a e essen ial o ecosys em de elopmen , which
equi es collabo a i e indus y−uni e si y e o s.
Acco ding o ou findings, aining wo kshops a e a significan
a iable ha a ou s en ep eneu ship amongs young people, which
esona es wi h p e ious s udies ha ha e explained ha highe edu-
ca ion le els and en ep eneu ial expe ience a e mo e likely o
in ol e young people as membe s o eams in he en ep eneu ial
p ocess (Pinz
on e al., 2022). We a gue ha incuba o s benefi en e-
p eneu ship when hey o e aining and connec en ep eneu s in
di e en sec o s.
This s udy examines he in e dependen ac o s ha enable and
cons ain he success o young en ep eneu s engaged in business
incuba o s in Spain o de e mine he s eng hs and weaknesses o
he cu en incuba o sys em. Specifically, we aim o answe he ol-
lowing wo esea ch ques ions:
RQ1: Is a connec ion e iden be ween he age o en ep eneu s in
incuba o s and he amoun o financial suppo ecei ed? I so, in
wha sense?
RQ2: Does he en ep eneu ’s age influence he ex en o which hey
exhibi pe sonal ini ia i e? I so, in wha sense?
We ob ain a collec ion o s a is ical da abases p o ided by manag-
e s o incuba o s o in es iga e he ela ionship be ween business
incuba o s’cha ac e is ics and con ibu ions o ad ancing he success
o young en ep eneu ial alen . We expec some o he chosen a ia-
bles o be s a is ically significan and o he s o be i ele an o mea-
su ing he success.
This s udy con ains wo sec ions o examine he ways in which
young en ep eneu s ecei e suppo om hei a filia ed incuba o s.
We fi s analyse business incuba o cha ac e is ics o de e mine hei
ele ance, hen ocus on pe sonal ini ia i e (PI) as an en ep eneu ial
pe sonali y ai in he second sec ion. Conclusions and discussion o
esul s a e included, and finally policy implica ions and ecommen-
da ions comple e he ex . The p elimina y conclusion is ha incuba-
o s wi h a highe numbe o young en ep eneu s ha e lowe
budge s, enan s mus pay mo e o se ices and incuba o s o ganise
less equen e en s, wo kshops and spaces o co-wo king oppo u-
ni ies.
Li e a u e e iew and hypo heses de elopmen
Li e a u e e iew
Schola s in ol ed in he Global En ep eneu ship Moni o (GEM)
documen ed a ious o ms o en ep eneu ial ac i i y ac oss coun-
ies and egions o e he yea s (Bosma e al., 2021), concluding ha
younge people a e mo e likely han olde people o s a new busi-
nesses and younge adul s end o ha e less knowledge and expe i-
ence, smalle ne wo ks, ewe esou ces and ewe skills. The fi s
echnology s a -up accele a o , Y Combina o Managemen LLC, was
ounded in he Uni ed S a es in 2005. The incuba o de eloped he
ool ha is widely used o e alua e s a -ups and analyse he po en-
ial o specific business oppo uni ies ha is also called Y Combina o .
While his applica ion does no disc imina e be ween young
en ep eneu s and adul s o e 35 yea s o age, Y Combina o in es s
mo e in echnology businesses whe e young en ep eneu s ha e
mo e in e es .
No ably, younge adul s may ha e mo e ene gy, en husiasm and
end o gi e up less in e ms o an es ablished ca ee and high sala y
because hey may no ye ha e o suppo a amily, pay a mo gage
and o he li es yle choices (Cal o e al., 2023).
Es ablishing business incuba o s in less de eloped coun ies can
be a iable op ion o imp o ing economic de elopmen . Fo exam-
ple, business incuba o s in Oman p o ide sha ed esou ces and acili-
ies o young businesses such as o fice space, consul an s and
pe sonnel, wi h mode a e ye p omising success (Sanyal and (Sul an-
a e o Oman), 2018). Mo e ecen ly, p e ious s udies ha e defined
he a iables ha can imp o e young people’s en ep eneu ship such
as en ep eneu ial educa ion and sel -pe cei ed c ea i i y o shape
young indi iduals’a i udes owa ds e-en ep eneu ship (Abdel a -
ah e al., 2023).
In Mexico, when s uden s comple e a mas e ’s deg ee hey gene -
ally do no conside pu suing en ep eneu ial endea ou s because o
hei age (P
e ez Pa edes e al., 2022). P e ious s udies ha e ound
ha young people in Indian communi ies independen ly es ablish
en e p ises (Aga wal e al., 2020;Biney, 2023). En ep eneu ial in en-
ions o young people in Indonesia a e de e mined by he need o
achie emen , isk pe cep ion and locus o con ol (Wa dana e al.,
2020). Young people in Pakis an a e eco- iendly and enjoy pu sui s
ha can change consume p ac ices, wi h a ou able ma ke condi-
ions o sus ainable en ep eneu ship (Soom o e al., 2020). In
Malaysia, he key ai s amongs en ep eneu s a e indi iduals’open-
ness o expe ience and esilience (Sah ah e al., 2023). In Po ugal,
he impo ance o enhancing en ep eneu ial cul u e and educa ion
o p omo e sel -e ficacy and de elop en ep eneu ial in en ions has
been ecommended (An
onio Po í io e al., 2023).
Ac oss Eu ope, young adul s (18−34 yea s o age) a e mo e likely
han olde adul s (35−64 yea s o age) o s a o un a new business,
acco ding o h ee o he classical GEM adul popula ion su ey ques-
ions add essed o young, eme ging o es ablished en ep eneu s
only (bu no non-en ep eneu s) (Bosma e al., 2021). The esul s
indica e ha wes e n Eu ope has he highes le els o adul s pe cei -
ing good oppo uni ies o s a a business locally who a e de e ed
om doing so by ea o ailu e, which is especially high in pa s o
Spain, Po ugal, F ance and he Uni ed Kingdom (Bosma e al., 2021).
In con as , in no he n Eu opean coun ies such as Denma k, young
ounde s who became ‘se ial en ep eneu s’ha e seen sales e enue
nea ly double be ween hei fi s and second fi ms (Shaw & Sø ensen,
2022).
In Spain, he yea s o COVID-19 pandemic es ic ions a ec ed
young people emendously and ull socioeconomic eco e y had no
ye occu ed in 2022; he e o e, Spain has an ageing en ep eneu ial
p ofile (Cal o e al., 2023), and he e a e significan di e ences in
mo i a ion be ween junio s and senio s ha can boos in e gene a-
ional coope a ion (Pe ezEncinas e al., 2021). In Spain, a posi i e
a i ude owa ds en ep eneu ship p e ails amongs young people,
who ocus on wo king independen ly as al e na i e o unemploy-
men , unde employmen o inc easing income sou ces (Adalid Ruiz
& Kayahan, 2021). One s udy also de e mined ha highly qualified
young people end o s ay in Mad id, ci ing quali y o li e as he main
eason (Angoi ia, 2023). Ano he s udy demons a ed ha en ep e-
neu s in no he n Spain end o main ain hei businesses longe
han hose in he cen al zone (Yu ebaso e al., 2021). P e ious
esea ch has shown ha young enan s find incuba o s’se ices
mos use ul (Albo -Mo an & Oghazi, 2016). This is a ele an poin
as well as o he ac o s such as educa ion le el, p o essional expe i-
ence and amily expe ience.
This s udy ocusses on young en ep eneu s ha ha e been
accep ed in o Spanish incuba o s o iden i y he cha ac e is ics o
incuba o s ha p omo e o hinde young en ep eneu s’pu sui s.
A. Rosado-Cube o, A. He n
andez, F.J. Blanco-Jim
enez e al. Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100579
2
Hypo heses de elopmen
This s udy explo es wo hypo heses.
Based on p e ious esea ch, pa icula ly s udies ha ha e demon-
s a ed ha young incuba o enan s find incuba o s’se ices mos
use ul (Albo -Mo an & Oghazi, 2016) and o enhance he ole o
incuba o s in suppo ing young en ep eneu s, we p opose ou fi s
hypo hesis.
H1. The e is a connec ion be ween he age o en ep eneu s in incu-
ba o s and he amoun o financial suppo ecei ed by incuba o s.
Sub-hypo hesis. The highe he a e age age o he en ep eneu s in
an incuba o is, he g ea e he financial suppo o he incuba o
will be.
A seminal a icle ha emains ele an is he basis o ou second
hypo hesis and ei e a es he impo ance o PI in en ep eneu ship.
PI sha pens en ep eneu ship, alongside o he ai s such as inno a-
ion and wo k pe o mance (F ese & Fay, 2001).
H2. En ep eneu s’age influences he ex en o which hey exhibi
pe sonal ini ia i e.
Sub-hypo hesis. Younge en ep eneu s will exhibi mo e pe sonal
ini ia i e.
We employ a non-pa ame ic s a is ical (chi-squa ed) es o e al-
ua e he alidi y o ou hypo heses and de e mine he significance o
he di e en a iables conside ed in incuba o s wi h young en ep e-
neu s.
Me hodology
The ques ionnai e was designed ollowing ea lie su eys
designed o Ranking Global Funcas de Vi e os de Emp esas, which is
calcula ed wi h da a ga he ed since 2018. We g oup he i ems col-
lec ed in he su ey ollowing he esponse c i e ia o he business
incuba o s. These da a co espond o su eys conduc ed in No embe
and Decembe 2023. We ob ained a lis o all exis ing incuba o s in
Spain (413), con ac ing he pe son in cha ge (di ec o o equi alen )
o each incuba o ia email (ques ionnai e sen ) and phone. The con-
ac p esen ed hemsel es as a membe o he Funcas eam, wo king
owa ds he elabo a ion o incuba o s’and accele a o s’Funcas ank-
ing. I a esponse was no ecei ed wi hin a easonable pe iod
(app oxima ely wo weeks), hey we e con ac ed again, ia phone
and email, up o wo mo e imes. I ook incuba o manage s abou
30 min o comple e he ques ionnai e. The final sample includes 93
ques ionnai es om Spanish incuba o s, ep esen ing 22.28 % o he
o al popula ion o incuba o s, which is a easonable esponse a e.
The ques ionnai e included all i ems ound in (Blanco Jim
enez e al.,
2021).
We ga he ed in o ma ion abou he di e en se ices ha incuba-
o s o e , g ouped in o ca ego ies such as assis ance and se ices,
consul ancy, p ojec moni o ing and semina s and wo kshops. Public
and p i a e financing is also ele an .
F equen ly incuba o s o e pa king spaces and suppo wi h con-
sul ancy se ices and p ojec ollow-up, as well as wo kshops o
mee enan companies’demands. Secu ing unding, ei he di ec ly
o h ough hi d pa ies is also included in his ca ego y as pa o he
suppo o businesses as an in eg al o m o suppo p o ided by
business incuba o s. Suppo seeking financing and legal ad ice a e
ound o be he mos impo an se ice o e ed by he incuba o s.
Public financing con inues o be mos p e alen when opening new
incuba o s o main aining exis ing incuba o s, as his s udy demon-
s a es. The ech indus y is he sec o wi h he mos in e es in incu-
ba o s’ecosys ems, and young en ep eneu s a e keen o s a a
business in his sec o . To analyse he a iable o financing ha fi ms
used du ing s a -up wi hin he business incuba o , we use da a om
he su ey and sepa a e i in o public o p i a e.
To analyse en ep eneu ship amongs young adul s wi hin incu-
ba o s, we employ he age dis ibu ion p oposed by GEM, whe e
hose iden ified as s a ing o unning a new business a e g ouped by
age in o a younge age g oup (adul s aged 18−34) and an olde age
g oup (aged 35−64) (Hill e al., 2023). Since p ojec p omo e s’a e -
age age in each incuba o is known, we cons uc a syn he ic a iable
classi ying incuba o s as ha ing significan young inpu when he
incuba o ’s a e age age is below 35 and incuba o s wi h an a e age
age abo e 35 as no young. In ou sample, 32 incuba o s, o 34,40 %,
all in o he young ca ego y and 61 (65,60 %) a e in he second ca e-
go y.
Analysis o business incuba o s’cha ac e is ics
In his sec ion we examine he a iables ha cha ac e ise he
incuba o s, encompassing annual budge ; annual equency o
en ep eneu ial e en s; aining cou ses ( ans e sal opics o sup-
po ); mon hly equency o aining cou ses ( ans e sal opics o
suppo ); p e-incuba o p ojec s and wo kshops; p e-incuba o o
co-wo king spaces; whe he he incuba o o e s ee se ices, con-
sul ing sessions wi h expe s o moni o s he o p e-incuba o p oj-
ec s’ac i i ies; he p opo ion o companies ha a e cu en ly
con inuing business ac i i ies; he pe cen age o g adua ed p ojec s
ha ob ained public financing; and which p ojec s ob ained p i a e
unding.
Suppo h ough access o in es o s, access o pee s, help wi h
eam o ma ion and di ec unding om he p og amme could ha e a
posi i e impac (Bone e al., 2019), which we link wi h ou a iables
co e ing en ep eneu ial e en s, aining cou ses, co-wo king spaces
and consul ing sessions wi h expe s. Some a iables a e quan i a i e
in na u e such as he impac o e en s and lea ning, men o ship,
access o unding and collabo a i e ne wo k p o ided by he Ci cula
Jumps a accele a ion p og amme o s a -ups (Much a & Nalu i a,
2023). In addi ion, men o ship p og ammes, en ep eneu ship edu-
ca ion and an emphasis on inno a ion and c ea i i y h ough
en ep eneu ial uni e si ies and academia (Dhiman & A o a, 2024)as
well as p o iding necessa y esou ces o success such as expe -le el
echnical assis ance and a sa e, empowe ing hi d space o collabo a-
ion (Palazzolo & De asagayam, 2023) ha e also been ound benefi-
cial. Va iable consul ing sessions wi h expe s highligh ed he ole o
en ep eneu -coach in he con ex o a uni e si y-based accele a o
(Mansoo i e al., 2019).
Gaps emain in he se ices p o ided by he incuba o s such as
ope a ing p ac ices, business accele a o o ms, o ganisa ional s uc-
u e, ope a ions and ou comes, incuba o s pe o mance and how
hey unc ion wi hin a s uc u ed amewo k (K ame e al., 2023).
O he schola s ha e explo ed how incuba o s’p og amme design
influences new en u es’abili y o access, in e p e and p ocess he
ex e nal in o ma ion needed o su i e and g ow. The a ge should
be o design and ope a e such p og ammes based on heo ies and
empi ical esea ch conce ning fi m-le el en ep eneu ial pe o -
mance (Cohen e al., 2019).
To assess he su i al o new businesses, we endea ou o iden i y
he mechanisms ha explain how incuba o s ope a e and hei ole
in suppo ing en ep eneu ship and inno a ion (C ișan e al., 2021),
as well as p ac ices and ools o sus aining s a -ups’inno a ion p o-
cess and inc easing hei su i al p obabili y (Ba is ella e al., 2017).
In addi ion o he mo e adi ional success measu e we in oduce
g adua ed p ojec s ha ha e ob ained public financing, which was
also conside ed by Zudai e and Al
e ez (2018).
O he esea ch has examined s a -ups ecei ing benefi s linked
o s a egic business de elopmen accele a ion in he a eas o s a -
egy and business model imp o emen , pi ching, financing and s a e-
gic pa ne ship (exi ) de elopmen (Gu mann e al., 2019).
In es men can in ol e new ools such as p i a e unding ia
mu ual unds o qualified in es o s (As apo & Zhdano 2022) and
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companies’financial p io i ies should gene a e su ficien esou ces o
ensu e s a -up de elopmen (Kupp e al., 2017). Secu ing ex e nal
suppo is a c i ical issue ha de e mines business iabili y (de Kle k
e al., 2024), and en ep eneu s mus manage he ension be ween
acqui ing esou ces and p ese ing au onomy (Seidel e al., 2016).
Analysing he ele an a iables om hose de ailed abo e allows
us o es ou fi s hypo hesisH1. The e is a connec ion be ween he
age o he en ep eneu s in he incuba o s and he amoun o finan-
cial suppo o he incuba o s
Sub-hypo hesis. The highe he age o he en ep eneu s in an incu-
ba o , he g ea e he financial suppo o he incuba o
Fig. 1 shows ha young incuba o s ha e smalle budge s ha
hose wi h en ep eneu s o e 35. Conside ing he olde age p ofile
o Spanish en ep eneu s, i seems logical ha s onge incuba o s
wi h la ge budge s and mo e esou ces a e o e ep esen ed by
mo e consolida ed and compe i i e p ojec s led by olde en ep e-
neu s as ne wo king, expe ience and ma ke knowledge a e key o
such p ojec s. Clea , hough no significan , di e ences a e ound in
he dis ibu ion, and he p- alue o he chi-squa ed es is 0.117,
which is e y close o ejec ing he null hypo hesis a a 10 % signifi-
cance le el.
Fig. 2 shows he e en s held by incuba o s o os e en ep eneu -
ship, e ealing ha incuba o s gea ed mo e owa ds a younge audi-
ence hold ewe e en s han hose wi h olde enan s. This indica es
ha young en ep eneu s a e a a disad an age because hey access
incuba o s wi h lowe budge s ha o e less ac i i y such as ne -
wo king o aining. The di e ence, in his ega d, is s a is ically sig-
nifican a he 10 % le el (p- alue=0.078).
Fig. 3 shows ha incuba o s wi h a highe p opo ion o young
en ep eneu s o e ewe aining oppo uni ies o en ep eneu ial
suppo . I is also ound ha as en ep eneu s’ aining is p ima ily
o e ed ou side o he incuba o i sel , i is di ficul o assess he alue
o belonging o he incuba o , a leas in e ms o access o aining.
Howe e , as he p- alue is 0.238 i is no conside ed o be a signifi-
can aspec o imp o ing young en ep eneu ship.
Fig. 4 eflec s he mon hly equency o aining cou ses. Once
again, he younge g oup is a a disad an age as he dis ibu ion o
aining cou ses in hese incuba o s exhibi s lowe alues. These di -
e ences a e significan a he 10 % le el (p- alue = 0.054).
Fig. 5 shows ha he equency o aining wo kshops o p e-
incuba ed and incuba ed p ojec s is highe o olde age incuba o s,
wi h a highly significan di e ence (p- alue = 0.029). The a iables o
en ep eneu ial e en s, aining cou ses and wo kshops confi m he
findings o (Bone e al., 2019;Much a & Nalu i a, 2023;Palazzolo &
De asagayam, 2023).
The igh hand figu e in Fig. 6 shows ha incuba o s o e consul -
ing sessions wi h expe s (p- alue = 0.109), spaces o co-wo king (p-
alue = 0.074) and moni o ing p ojec ac i i ies (p- alue = 0.067)
wi h mo e equency in olde incuba o s. The le hand figu e shows
se ices o e ed o ee o a g ea e deg ee in incuba o s a e highe
in olde incuba o s (p- alue = 0.172). Acco ding o all he a iables
we ha e analysed, we conclude ha younge incuba o s o e a lowe
le el o benefi s, confi ming he esul s o (Mansoo i e al., 2019;Dhi-
man & A o a, 2024;Much a & Nalu i a, 2023).
Incuba o s’budge s a ou olde en ep eneu s, as does he e-
quency o e en s ha suppo en ep eneu ship. We highligh s a is-
ically significan cha ac e is ics o incuba o s such as he aining
cou ses on o e , hei equency and hei ans e sal na u e along-
side he aining wo kshops, spaces o co-wo king, consul ing ses-
sions wi h expe s and moni o ing p ojec ac i i ies and ee se ices.
These a e highly indica i e and e eal how younge en ep eneu s
a e hampe ed in hei en ep eneu ial endea ou s.
Plo 1 shows business incuba o s’cha ac e is ics and hei ole in
seeding and nu u ing young en ep eneu s’ac i i ies. We di ided
hem in o quali ies o a business incuba o ha se e as seeds and
hose ha p o ide ele an assis ance.
Plo 1. Significan seeds o young en ep eneu s
E en s o sp ead he en ep eneu ial spi i
Mon hly equency o aining cou ses
T aining wo kshops o p ojec s
Co-wo king spaces
Moni o ing p ojec ac i i ies
Pe inen seeds o young en ep eneu s
Incuba o budge
T aining cou ses
Consul ing sessions wi h expe s
F ee se ices
Fig. 1. Business incuba o s: Income budge (2022).
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Thus a , chi-squa ed es s ha e been used o de e mine which
seeds a e ele an o he cha ac e isa ion o young en ep eneu ial
p ofiles in business incuba o s. Howe e , o mo e esea ch dep h
and quan i a i e obus ness, we employ a logis ic eg ession model
ha akes he age- ela ed incuba o classifica ion as he dependen
a iable. This echnique enables us o examine he impac o each o
he nine seeds in Plo 1 on young en ep eneu ial success. Due o he
la ge numbe o explana o y a iables included, we use a o wa d
selec ion me hod.
We fi he model o all he indi iduals in ou sample, wi h only
one significan a iable in he logis ic model (Table 1): he impac o
aining wo kshops o p ojec s.
To e alua e he esul s o he logis ic eg ession model, i is ad is-
able o conside he so-called con usion ma ix (o classifica ion
able), which is a abula ep esen a ion o ac ual (obse ed) s al-
ues p edic ed (by he model). This able con ains ou cells ha co e-
spond o ue posi i e (TP), ue nega i e (TN), alse posi i e (FP) and
alse nega i e (FN) p edic ed alues. Some impo an me ics can be
defined om his in o ma ion, encompassing he model’s accu acy
[(TP + TN) / To al], specifici y [TN/(TN + FP)] and he sensi i i y [TP /
(FN + TP)].
Table 2 p esen s he associa ed classifica ion able. The o e all
pe cen age o co ec classifica ions in he chosen model is 65,9 %,
wi h a sensi i i y o 56,7 % and a specifici y o 70,9 %. These a e good
esul s, conside ing he he e ogenei y o he business incuba o s.
O he desc ip o s o young en ep eneu ship in Spain
This pa o ou esea ch examines young en ep eneu ship by
egion, which sec o s gene a e mo e in e es amongs he young and
whe he hey ob ained financing o hei p ojec s. The subsequen
ecommenda ions we p opose o public adminis a o s a e based on
he analysis o hese esul s.
Fig. 2. Sp eading en ep eneu ial e en s.
Fig. 3. T aining cou ses.
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Fig. 4. Mon hly equency o aining cou ses.
Fig. 5. T aining wo kshops o p ojec s.
Fig. 6. Consul ing sessions wi h expe s, spaces o co-wo king, moni o ing p ojec s’ac i i ies and ee se ices.
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Au onomous egions
We nex analyse he p opo ion o young en ep eneu ship and
ha o en ep eneu s o e 35 acco ding o geog aphy based on
Spain’s au onomous egions.
As shown in Fig. 7, mos o he incuba o s in Spain ha e en ep e-
neu s o e 35 yea s o age, which is consis en wi h he cu en p o-
file o en ep eneu s in Spain as being olde han o he Eu opean
coun ies nea by, whe e 80 % a e be ween 25 and 54 acco ding o
GEM (Cal o e al., 2023).
Mad id and Galicia s and ou ega ding he numbe o en ep e-
neu s o e 35 yea s o age. No ably, Mad id has he highes le el o
en ep eneu ial ac i i y in he whole coun y. The g ea es concen-
a ions o business and en ep eneu ial ac i i y a e in Mad id, Ca a-
lonia and Galicia, whe e ma u e en ep eneu s p e e o engage in
en ep eneu ial ac i i y.
Fu he mo e, incuba o s ecei e a g ea e le el o suppo in
Mad id and Ca alonia, p ima ily h ough semina s and wo kshops
(Rosado-Cube o e al., 2023), and his s udy demons a es ha hese
egions clea ly suppo senio alen . The opposi e is ue in he Medi-
e anean, Valencia, Mu cia and Cas ile-la Mancha, whe e young
en ep eneu ial alen is pa icula ly p ominen .
No ably conside able di e ences a e ound be ween youngs e s
om Mad id and Ca alonia in e ms o accessing business incuba-
o s due o he clea cul u al di e ences o hei uni e si y g adu-
a es. Acco ding o he GUESSS 2021 epo (Ruiz-Na a o e al.
2021), Ca alan uni e si ies ha e a high p opo ion o s uden s ha
in end o s a hei own businesses in fi e yea s (23 % om Uni e -
sidad de Gi ona and 18 % Uni e sidad de Ba celona) and less see
hemsel es wo king o a la ge company (12 % and 15 %, espec-
i ely). These figu es a e ema kably di e en o s uden s om
Mad id, who gene ally do no see hemsel es owning a business in
he same ime ame (Uni e sidad Ca los III only 3.8 % and Uni e si-
dad Rey Juan Ca los 13.8 %) and lean owa ds wo king o a la ge
company in fi e yea s (37.8 % om Uni e sidad Ca los III and 30.4 %
om Uni e sidad Rey Juan Ca los).
Economic sec o s
We begin by examining whe he young people become en ep e-
neu s in he e ia y sec o and he o he wo sec o s.
Fig. 8 shows ha olde and younge incuba o s end o ocus on
he e ia y sec o . No ably, Spain is highly ocussed on he se ice
sec o o a a ie y o easons such as high p oduc ion cos s, low
in es men in esea ch and de elopmen , less compe i ion in many
p oduc i e a eas and ela ed cha ac e is ics. This di ec s he ocus
owa ds he e ia y sec o , which is a end ha young people a e
also ollowing wi h en ep eneu ial ac i i y.
P ojec financing
P ojec financing is an in e es ing a iable ha is, once again,
ound o be a hind ance o he young. As shown in Fig. 1, olde incu-
ba o s ha e la ge budge s han hose wi h en ep eneu s below he
age o 35. Fig. 9 illus a es how p ojec s led by ma u e en ep eneu s
also gain mo e public and p i a e unding. Secu ing public financial
suppo is a highly compe i i e p ocess.
The findings e eal ha young en ep eneu s a e a a disad an-
age conce ning business incuba ion. This s udy o how incuba o s
a e financed aligns wi h (Bone e al., 2019;As apo & Zhdano 2022;
Seidel e al., 2016).
Quali y and quan i y o se ices p o ided by incuba o s
Funcas es ablishes low, medium and high le els o incuba o s
based bo h on he quali y and quan i y o he se ices p o ided. Once
again, Fig. 10 shows ha incuba o s gea ed owa ds young en ep e-
neu s a e mo e likely o be in he low ca ego y.
Table 1
Va iables in he equa ion.
B S.E. Wald d Sig. Exp(B)
S ep 1 T aining wo kshops
o p ojec s
1159 ,473 6002 1 ,014 3187
Cons an 1099 ,320 11,768 1 <,001 ,333
Table 2
Classifica ion able.
P edic ed
Young incuba o s Pe cen age
co ec
Obse ed No Yes
S ep 1 Young incuba o s No 39 16 70,9
Yes 13 17 56,7
O e all Pe cen age 65,9
Fig. 7. P opo ion o young incuba o s by au onomous egions in Spain.
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Table 3 shows ha 43.8 % o he young incuba o s a e in he lowe
le el o he Funcas classifica ion, whils only 28.3 % o olde incuba-
o s a e a his le el. Fu he mo e, 36.7 % o he olde incuba o s
de elop highe quali y and quan i y o ac i i ies and o e a g ea e
numbe o se ices, while only 28.1 % o young incuba o s each a
high le el o quali y and a wide ange o se ices, which is a no el
a iable analysed in his s udy.
Pe sonali y ai s o young en ep eneu s
In his sec ion we explo e ou second wo king
Hypo hesis H2. Ini ia i e is one o he quali ies o business people
ha is mo e p e alen in en ep eneu s unde 35.
En ep eneu s’pe sonali y ai s ha e been explo ed a leng h (Ke
e al., 2018), and me a-analysis s udies ha e highligh ed significan
associa ions be ween pe sonali y and en ep eneu ship (B ands €
a e ,
2011). Ne e heless, he impac o ounde s’pe sonali ies on he suc-
cess o new en u es is la gely unknown. We nex demons a e ha
ounde pe sonali y ai s a e a significan ea u e o a fi m’s ul ima e
success (McCa hy e al., 2023). Some o he pe sonali y ai s include
sel -e ficacy and he abili y o iden i y business oppo uni ies (Pa ana a
e al., 2023).Themos ecen GEMalsoindica ed ha specificpe sonal
cha ac e is ics can encou age en e p ising ac i i y, which is c ucial o
ad ancing con empo a y economic ac i i y (Cal o e al., 2023).
We examine whe he young en ep eneu s ha e specific pe son-
ali y ai s ha can help us make sugges ions o imp o ing en ep e-
neu ial models. We iden i y PI as a pe sonali y ai ha is linked o
young en ep eneu ship, and a e he age o 35, en ep eneu s also
Fig. 8. Business incuba o s: economic sec o o ac i i y.
Fig. 9. Financed p ojec s.
Fig. 10. Incuba o s’quali y and quan i y o se ices.
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