Typology of business incubators in Spain according to the stages of startups incubation

Asensio-Ci ia, Ana; de Pablos He ede o, Ca men; Blanco Jiménez, F ancisco José;
Ma ínez, An ón Ga cía
A icle
Typology o business incuba o s in Spain acco ding o he
s ages o s a ups incuba ion
Adminis a i e Sciences
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Asensio-Ci ia, Ana; de Pablos He ede o, Ca men; Blanco Jiménez, F ancisco José;
Ma ínez, An ón Ga cía (2024) : Typology o business incuba o s in Spain acco ding o he s ages o
s a ups incuba ion, Adminis a i e Sciences, ISSN 2076-3387, MDPI, Basel, Vol. 14, Iss. 11, pp. 1-24,
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Ci a ion: Asensio-Ci ia, Ana, Ca men
De-Pablos-He ede o, F ancisco José
Blanco Jiménez, and An ón Ga cía
Ma ínez. 2024. Typology o Business
Incuba o s in Spain Acco ding o he
S ages o S a ups Incuba ion.
Adminis a i e Sciences 14: 291.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
admsci14110291
Recei ed: 15 Augus 2024
Re ised: 24 Oc obe 2024
Accep ed: 2 No embe 2024
Published: 5 No embe 2024
Copy igh : © 2024 by he au ho s.
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4.0/).
A icle
Typology o Business Incuba o s in Spain Acco ding
o he S ages o S a ups Incuba ion
Ana Asensio-Ci ia 1, Ca men De-Pablos-He ede o 2, F ancisco JoséBlanco Jiménez 1
and An ón Ga cía Ma ínez 3,*
1Depa men o Applied Economics I and His o y and Economic Ins i u ions, Rey Juan Ca los Uni e si y,
Paseo de los A ille os s/n, 28032 Mad id, Spain; [email p o ec ed] (A.A.-C.);
[email p o ec ed] (F.J.B.J.)
2Depa men o Business Adminis a ion (Adminis a ion, Managemen and O ganiza ion), Applied
Economics II and Fundamen als o Economic Analysis, Rey Juan Ca los Uni e si y, Paseo de los A ille os
s/n, 28032 Mad id, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
3Animal Science Depa men , Uni e si y o Co doba, Rabanales Uni e si y Campus, 14071 Co doba, Spain
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac : The aim o his wo k was o classi y he business incuba o s in Spain acco ding o he
ou phases o he s a up’s incuba ion p ocess. Conside ing ha he g adua ion a e implies g ea e
su i al and business success o he incuba ed companies, hey ha e been iden i ied a each s age o
he incuba ion (sp ead o en ep eneu ship, p e-incuba ion, ad anced incuba ion, and g adua ion).
The ac i i ies ha p esen highe impac s on he success o he incuba ed companies and he ac i i ies
ca ied ou by he business incuba o ha ha e a g ea e ele ance on he g adua ion o he companies
ha e conc e ely been conside ed. P incipal componen (PC) clus e analysis has been applied. All he
incuba ion a iables we e used simul aneously, educing hei numbe and g ouping hem in o ac o s.
Finally, he cases we e g ouped acco ding o hese la en a iables. P incipal componen analysis
educed dimensionali y o eigh ac o s wi h a 74% explained a iance. Fac o 1 was posi i ely ela ed
o p e-incuba ion a iables; ac o 2 was linked o aining and collabo a ion a iables wi hin he
en ep eneu ship di usion phase. Fac o 3, named ac i i y moni o ing and con ol, was ela ed o
phase 3, o basic incuba ion a iables. Clus e analysis acili a es he g ouping o business incuba o s
in o h ee clus e s: G oup 1 (16% o he o al), incuba o s wi h s ong de ici s in incuba ion phases 1,
2, and 3. They a e small-sized business incuba o s, o en loca ed in u al a eas o ci ies, wi h a low
g adua ion a e. G oup 2 (30%), business incuba o s wi h a e y high g adua ion a e and s ongly
posi i e alues in ac o s 1 and 2. Fac o 3, al hough posi i e, is suscep ible o imp o emen . They
a e he la ges g oup o business incuba o s and usually loca ed in indus ial and echnological pa ks.
G oup 3 (54%) is he majo i y, wi h alues close o clus e s 2 and 3.
Keywo ds: business incuba o s; en ep eneu ship; mul i a ia e me hods; incuba o classi ica ion
1. In oduc ion
S a ups a e engines o social and economic de elopmen (Ressin 2022), ha in luence
he educ ion o unemploymen (The Wo ld Bank 1999;Fe ei o-Seoane e al. 2018b) and
po e y (Camayo Llallico e al. 2017), and a o in es men , he g ow h o he local economy,
and he imp o emen o he quali y o li e (Balle ing and Masu el 2020;Xu e al. 2021).
Cu en ly, small and medium-sized en e p ises (SME) ep esen 90% o he business ab ic
in de eloped coun ies, a igu e ha inc eases o 95% in de eloping coun ies (Assembly
2022). In addi ion, s a ups a e s a egic in inno a ion, echnological ad ancemen , and he
iabili y o en u es (Shehada e al. 2020;Uni ed Na ions 2024).
En ep eneu ship suppo du ing he incuba ion s age cons i u es a p io i y ac i i y
in business incuba o s and means a s a egic ac o in he success o he en u e and i s
sus ainabili y (Ma ínez-Ma ínez 2022). This phase a o s he c ea ion o alue, echnology
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/admsci14110291 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/admsci
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 2 o 24
ans e , he p omo ion o inno a ion, clus e de elopmen , and he coo dina ion o pa ici-
pa ion o uni e si ies, esea ch ins i u es, and he business communi y (De la Hoz-Villa
and P ie o-Fló ez 2020).
The e a e mul iple nomencla u es o e e o business incuba o s (BI), such as ge -
mina o s, business ho els, business incuba o s, business bou iques, en ep eneu cen e s,
inno a i e business cen e s, en ep eneu ship cen e s, business inno a ion cen e s, new
business cen e s, business p omo ion cen e s, business de elopmen suppo cen e s, busi-
ness schools, e c. (Flo es-Bueno and Je ez 2023;Ayyash e al. 2022). In each case, depending
on he coun y, he socioeconomic con ex , and o he ac o s, he e will be di e ences
be ween hem. Howe e , business incuba o s a e equen ly non-p o i en i ies (Blanco
Jiménez e al. 2023) aimed o suppo en ep eneu s om he ini ial idea o hei ull
es ablishmen in he ma ke .
Business incuba o s (BI) showed high he e ogenei y among hem. We ha e ound a
g ea di e si y o en ep eneu ial ecosys ems. In his sense, i would be o g ea in e es o
conside an en ep eneu ial ecosys em in a holis ic way and business incuba o s as one o
he ac o s o his en ep eneu ial ecosys em, jus like business angels and business accele a-
o s. Isenbe g (2011) p oposed a no el me hodology aimed a p omo ing he de elopmen
o business ecosys ems h ough ac ions a he le el o public policies, cul u al de elopmen ,
se ice suppo , and access o ma ke s. Also, wi hin he suppo in as uc u e, incuba o s
and accele a o s a e conside ed a use ul ool. The manusc ip unde lines he need o
a comp ehensi e app oach by policymake s, who mus conside all hese in e ela ed
componen s o build an e ec i e business ecosys em h ough he de elopmen o policies
ha p omo e en ep eneu ship. Fu he mo e, Mason and B own (2014) del ed deepe in o
he ela ionship be ween en ep eneu ial ecosys ems and economic g ow h, highligh ing
he g ea impo ance o la ge companies ha unc ion as ca alys s o new ini ia i es. Bo h
amewo ks ecognize he impo ance o a a o able en i onmen o en ep eneu ship.
Howe e , Isenbe g emphasizes a sys emic and holis ic app oach, while Mason and B own
highligh speci ic componen s, such as ancho i ms and business e aining. Finally, S am
(2015) applied his holis ic con ex o egional de elopmen by imp o ing he exis ing
heo e ical amewo k o s eng hen esilien and sus ainable business ecosys ems. These
ecosys ems showed ma ked di e ences in knowledge capi al and he use o echnology.
(Kapasi and Galloway 2019); he a ailabili y o spaces o knowledge, esou ce he e ogenei y,
and capi al o ma ion (Ki agawa and Robe son 2012); i s uni e si y o ien a ion, wi h wo
compe ing na a i es, comme cial and educa ional (Nicholls-Nixon and Vallie e 2020); Van
Weele e al. (2020) indica ed ha he he e ogenei y o BI is condi ioned by he a ailabili y
o angible and in angible esou ces. In his sense Ayyash e al. (2022) p o ided a mo e
nuanced unde s anding o he he e ogenei y ha unde lies he o ganiza ional o m e e ed
o as a BI.
Business incuba o classi ica ion helps op imize pe o mance by aligning clien selec-
ion c i e ia wi h p og am objec i es, uniqueness o ideas, and s anda d selec ion ools,
ensu ing he s a ups ecei e he igh suppo o h i e (Rama and Magheswa i 2023).
Fu he mo e, business incuba o s play a i al ole in economic de elopmen by suppo ing
s a ups, p o iding esou ces, and acili a ing inancing, which in u n con ibu es o job
c ea ion and weal h gene a ion (Shekapu e e al. 2024). Mo eo e , he e iciency o economic
de elopmen elies on he imp o emen o business in as uc u e, whe e business incu-
ba o s se e as a key elemen , o e ing di e se suppo o businesses a di e en s ages o
de elopmen (Almeida e al. 2021). Apa om his, business incuba o s a e seen as u u e
educa ional and lea ning cen e s, nu u ing small businesses and p epa ing young people
o he challenges o he global ma ke , emphasizing he impo ance o hei classi ica ion
o ailo ed educa ional and aining p og ams (Diawa i and Suges i 2023).
Se e al e e ences on business incuba o s we e ound (Cen o de In o mación y Red de
C eación de Emp esas (CIRCE) n.d.), al hough ew we e ocused on he phases ha make
up business incuba o s and he business model (B ei ik-Meye e al. 2020;Niammuad
e al. 2013). To deep knowledge o i is o g ea in e es as he incuba ion phases could be
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 3 o 24
associa ed wi h he iabili y o he en u es (Paoloni and Moda a i 2022). In his sense,
when i comes o incuba o business models, he nuances o he alue c ea ion pe spec i e
a e la gely igno ed and ea ed as a “black box” (Gómez 2002).
This pape ou lines a means by which he he e ogenei y o business incuba o s can
be quan i ied acco ding o he di e si y ha can be iewed. The main pu pose is o e ing
a new pe spec i e o he s udy o BIs ha ocuses on hei he e ogenei y du ing he
incuba ion p ocess.
The EU (DG XVI) de ined business incuba o s as public and p i a e in e locu o s
ha de elop a comple e and in eg a ed sys em o ac i i ies and se ices o excellence o
small and medium-sized en e p ises wi h he aim o c ea ing and de eloping inno a i e
ac i i ies (Mo ales e al. 2019).
Business incuba o s p o ide en ep eneu s wi h in o ma ion, ad ice, managemen
guidance, accommoda ion spaces, whe he sha ed (p e-incuba o o cowo king) o indi-
idual (o ice), aining p og ams, ne wo king, e en s and connec ion ac i i ies, ne wo ks
o men o s, and o he esou ces, and ha e become an impo an elemen o he business
ecosys em, con ibu ing g ea ly o he gene a ion o alue (Cab e a So o and Sou o Anido
2023;Vaz e al. 2022).
A s a egic objec i e o he incuba o s was o acili a e he ideal amewo k o he
c ea ion, de elopmen , and ma u i y o business ini ia i es. They p o ide se ices o hei
clien s and con igu e an ecosys em ha inc eases he chances o success and en u e ’s
su i al. Th ough incuba o s, companies ecei e aining, ad ice, and echnological and
inancial links a hei ini ial s age, a ime o g ea es ulne abili y (De Es eban Escoba e al.
2022). In addi ion, he incuba o p omo es he cul u e o inno a ion, business p omo ion,
and he aining o new en ep eneu s (Cha es-Maza and Fed iani 2022).
The success o a BI is measu ed by he su i al a e o he companies incuba ed o
hos ed in i (Díaz e al. 2019). Acco ding o (Díaz Macías and Mo a Macías 2019), he success
a e o incuba ed companies was 80%, while his pe cen age d opped o 38% in s a ups no
incuba ed in a BI. In his sense, en u es linked o incuba o s showed a g ea e p obabili y
o su i al (Pa edes e al. 2020). Acco ding o he Na ional Business Incuba ion Associa ion
(NBIA), BI is an e icien and dynamic p ocess ha p o ides manage ial help, aimed a
ob aining economic esou ces and exposu e o “C i ical Business” ha educes be ween 10%
and 15% he ailu e a e in he ea ly s ages o he company (Díaz Macías and Mo a Macías
2019). Awonuga e al. (2024) analyzed he impac o business incuba o s on s a up success
in he Uni ed S a es. The pape highligh s ha business incuba o s play a c ucial ole in
p o iding s a ups wi h access o inancing channels. In he same sense we ounded he
Fo bes a icle “Rewi ing Business Incuba o s o Success (2021)” (Da idson 2021).
Se e al au ho s conside ed he ole o business incuba o s o be posi i e in he eco-
nomic ans o ma ion o e i o ies (Pa edes e al. 2020;Paz 2022). In addi ion o p omo ing
he s a egy o suppo lines o en ep eneu s, hey also unc ion as a cen e o a ac ion,
e en ion, and expansion o companies. BI de elops se ices o en ep eneu s and ac s
as a ocus o inno a ion o new p ojec s, p oduc s, and se ices. The coo dina ion o he
di e en BI a o s an e icien sys em o aid o en ep eneu s ha gua an ees a dynamic
and sus ainable low (Ramí ez e al. 2020).
The de ailed desc ip ion o he bibliog aphy abou he BI s ages, shown below, helped
us iden i y hose key a iables o each incuba ion phase o la e use in he su ey and
in he cons uc ion o he ypology. Acco ding o Blanco Jiménez e al. (2023), Lúa e al.
(2020), and Rudawska (2020), he e a e di e en phases ha he en ep eneu goes h ough
in he business incuba o : Phase 1. Ini ial ad ice, i s con ac . Doub s a e esol ed, he
idea is p esen ed, he esou ces a ailable a e op imized, e c. I is accessed h ough he
appoin men se ice. Phase 2. p e-incuba ion: in his phase, he business plan is ca ied
ou in an in e al o 4 o 6 mon hs wi h a echnical ad iso y eam. On he one hand, in
he ea ly s ages o launching a p ojec he idea is gene a ed, he business model, and he
alue p oposi ion a e de ined. On he o he hand, in his s age he comme cial and business
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 4 o 24
oppo uni ies a e assessed (Zuluaga and Mo ales 2016), bu on he o he hand, in his phase
he abandonmen a e is highe (Fon Co e al. 2020;Wilson and Dobni 2020;Ajah 2023).
Once he p e-incuba ion phases and he business plan a e comple ed, he “bi h o he
en ep eneu ship” begins, whe e i eaches a legal en i y o ope a e in he ma ke . Incuba-
o s acili a e he es ablishmen o he company, s eamlining adminis a i e p ocedu es
wi h a educ ion in ime and cos s (Hausbe g and Ko eck 2020). A e he es ablishmen o
he en u e, he incuba ion phase begins. Incuba ion is di ided in o wo phases, depending
on he se ices p o ided by he incuba o : basic and ad anced incuba ion. Phase 3. basic
incuba ion, in his s age, he incuba o p o ides spaces (cowo king), in as uc u e, ools, e-
sou ces, and con ac s necessa y o he c ea ion and de elopmen o p oduc s and se ices.
Phase 4. ad anced incuba ion, he incuba o s p o ide addi ional se ices o hose o he
p e ious phase, such as aining, ne wo king, pa icipa ion in e en s, connec ion ac i i ies,
media ion, and es ing labo a o ies, among o he s. Du ing his phase, ag eemen s wi h
pa ne s and s a egic pa ne s a e p omo ed, bo h o inancing, scaling o p oduc ion,
and in e na ionaliza ion o he en u e. The se ices p o ided by business incuba o s a e
a iable depending on he ype o se ices, he clien s, and he s uc u e o he o ganiza ion
(Deyano a e al. 2022).
Business incuba o s we e di e en ia ed by he se ices o e ed, om hose ocused on
echnology o o he s ocused on business de elopmen (An unes e al. 2020). Howe e , all
o hem p o ide ac i e suppo o en ep eneu s h ough aining, adminis a i e suppo ,
o ice space and in as uc u e, echnology ans e , assis ance o help educe ime o ma ke ,
consul ing se ices, ne wo king, and he unds needed o help g ow he new business
(Kasanago u and Bha acha ya 2018). Since COVID 19, i ual business incuba o s ha e
p oli e a ed, which suppo he en ep eneu wi hou p o iding a physical space o ca y
ou hei ac i i y (Handoyo e al. 2021;Rei 2022).
Finally, he s a ups will abandon business incuba o s, and he incuba ion p ocess will
be assessed h ough he iabili y o he company. G adua ion a e is he esponse a iable
mos equen ly used o measu e incuba o s’ success (Tang e al. 2021).
The e ec o business incuba o s on he en u es’ success has been widely analyzed.
In his sense, Alayoubi e al. (2020) ela ed he e ec o knowledge o s a egic objec i es
on he achie emen o echnological inno a ion a he Pales ine Technical College. The
epo ed esul s indica ed a s ong posi i e inc ease in he s a egic equi emen s and
he inno a ion achie ed (leade ship, pionee ing hinking, pionee ing cul u e, s a egic
esou ce managemen ). Gio dano Ma ínez e al. (2018) analyzed he causal ela ionship
be ween incuba o pe o mance and incuba ion s ages by SEM model. Despi e ha ing
a wide bibliog aphy on his subjec , he e is a gap ega ding he ole played by he in-
cuba ion phases in he success o he business incuba o s h ough he de elopmen o
quan i a i e models.
Shehada e al. (2020) we e ocused on how o imp o e he pe o mance o business
incuba o s in he Gaza S ip. Owda e al. (2019) iden i ied pe sonal a iables and hei
e ec on p omo ing job c ea ion in he Gaza S ip h ough business incuba o s. In his
case, he esea che s analyzed 92 p ojec s loca ed in business incuba o s in he Gaza S ip,
add essing he s udy o gende and echnical knowledge.
Bena ides-Sánchez e al. (2023) s udied business incuba o s and he ole de eloped
by uni e si ies as a ca alys be ween s uden en ep eneu s, eache s, esea che s, and
in es o s. The need was ound o build mul idisciplina y wo k eams wi h collabo a i e
wo k ne wo ks.
Habibu ahman e al. (2022) del ed in o he concep o incuba o s and iden i ied
c i ical success ac o s, such as syne gis ic p oduc s, p ocesses, inno a ion managemen ,
communica ion, cul u e, expe ience, in o ma ion echnologies, inno a ion skills, and unc-
ional and implemen a ion skills. The ele en ac o s we e simila in incuba o s and s a ups,
al hough wi h a di e en o de o p io i y.
Consequen ly, business incuba o s cons i u e key elemen s in he c ea ion o i ms
and a e undamen al o business de elopmen (Mecha-López and Velasco-Gail 2023;

Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 5 o 24
Leal e al. 2023), sus ainable de elopmen (Balle ing and Masu el 2020), and e i o ial
cohesion (To il and de Pablo Valenciano 2009;Gail and López 2021;Mas-Ve dúe al. 2015).
Likewise, i is complex o quan i y he success o business incuba o s because he e a e
di e en me ics, indica o s, and app oaches, such as business inno a ion (Lian 2020),
e iciency (Ramí ez González 2017), pe o mance (Al-Muba aki and Wong 2011), and he
en ep eneu ’s pe spec i e (An ono ica e al. 2023), among o he s.
Howe e , he e a e ew s udies ha analyze business incuba o s wi h he incuba ion
phases app oach (Olmedo e al. 2023;Velasco U ibe 2020). In his esea ch, we conside ed
he business incuba o s in Spain globally, assuming hei di e si y and hei s age o
de elopmen . Thei g ouping acco ding o hei a iabili y and he incuba ion plan hey
a e de eloping is o g ea in e es , bo h o he de elopmen o in si u imp o emen s and
o he de elopmen o speci ic sec o al policies ha enhance hei de elopmen (A ibas
e al. 2021) and imp o e su i al o g adua ion a es (De Es eban Escoba 2020).
Con ex o Business Incuba o s in Spain
The knowledge o business incuba o s in Spain is he e ogeneous, and a ious me hod-
ologies and app oaches adap ed o he di e en socio-economic con ex s o Spain ha e
been applied. Molei o Ma ins (2023) explo ed he con ibu ion o business incuba o s
o en ep eneu ship and local economic de elopmen h ough case analysis. The esul s
showed he impo ance o educa ion o p omo e he business spi i o SMEs. Alonso-Conde
e al. (2020) explo ed he ela ionship be ween business educa ion and en ep eneu ship
by a su ey among business adminis a ion s uden s. P o essional p e e ences, inancial
knowledge, and suppo ne wo ks we e analyzed. The esul s showed he p e e ence o
he s uden s o he wo k on behal o o he s e sus he en ep eneu ship op ion.
Ga cía and Seoane (2015) compa ed di e en exis ing incuba o s in Spain, ocusing
hei s udy on he Regions o Ca aluña, Galicia, and Mad id, h ough a desc ip i e me hod-
ology. Rosado-Cube o e al. (2023) analyzed he egional di e ences be ween business
incuba o s in Mad id, Ca aluña, and Pais Vasco wi h he main objec i e o imp o ing
knowledge o he ole o incuba o s in egional de elopmen . Apa icio e al. (2022) assessed
he ole o egional go e nmen s and uni e si ies in p omo ing en ep eneu ship in Spain.
Panel da a om 281 companies aken om he GEM du ing he pe iod 2004–2018 we e used.
Thei esul s indica ed he exis ence o a posi i e co ela ion be ween R&D expendi u e
and en ep eneu ship. Jabeen (2022) conduc ed a compa a i e analysis be ween he en-
ep eneu ial ecosys ems in Spain, F ance, and Ge many using he Global En ep eneu ship
Index (GEI) as a esponse a iable. The esul s epo ed ha Spain is lagging behind wi h
12 GEI indica o s.
Blanco e al. (2012) cha ac e ized business incuba o s in Spain acco ding o hei
inancing, p oduc i e sec o , and ope a ional s uc u e. Likewise, Blanco Jiménez (2019)
classi ied incuba o s based on ixed ac o s, such as managing en i y, economic ac i i y,
and suppo ecei ed. In his same sense, To il and de Pablo Valenciano (2009) analyzed
incuba o s acco ding o hei sou ce o inancing and hei ope a ional s uc u e.
A a egional le el, he s udies ca ied ou in he Regions o Ca aluña, Mad id, Valencia,
and Galicia s and ou . In he case o Ca aluña, Pe domo e al. (2014) and Pe domo
Cha y e al. (2016) analyzed he Ba celona Ac i a business incuba o and highligh ed he
impo ance o aligning he supply and demand o se ices o educe mo ali y a es. Del
Valle G anada (2016) s udied he managemen o knowledge ans e (KM) in business
incuba o s in Ca aluña du ing wo pe iods, 2009 and 2014–2015. This s udy was based
on he iangula ion o me hodologies, which included case s udies and he applica ion o
heo e ical models alida ed h ough he Delphi me hodology by a g oup o expe s. I s
esul s highligh ed he impo ance o in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies (ICT),
o ganiza ional elemen s, and human alen o imp o e he ans e o knowledge. Coll-
Ma ínez e al. (2022) ca ied ou hei s udy e alua ing how p oximi y and local economic
ac i i y in luence he loca ion o companies in Ba celona du ing 2012–2015. S a up da a
and open da a on he socioeconomic composi ion o Ba celona neighbo hoods we e used.
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 6 o 24
De Es eban Escoba e al. (2022) analyzed he impac o COVID-19 on he en ep eneu ial
ecosys em o he Mad id Region. Empi ical da a and SEM me hodology we e used. In his
sense, Lin-Lian e al. (2021) e alua ed how hese incuba o s con ibu e o he social bene i s
and sus ainabili y o he business ecosys em by s uc u al equa ion models (SEM).
Sen ana e al. (2018) ocused hei s udy on business incuba o s in he Valencian
Communi y. They p oposed a new me ic o e alua e hei economic and social p o i abili y
by a cos -bene i analysis o he ax impac o he ac i i y o companies coming om
business incuba o s.
Fe ei o-Seoane e al. (2018a) e alua ed he impac o business incuba o s in Galicia
(Spain) in he pe iod 2009 o 2013, using wo me hodologies: he “ ax balance shee ”
me hod, which compa es public in es men wi h ax e enues om business ac i i ies, and
he “comp ehensi e model o p o i abili y o public esou ces”, which co ela es public
in es men wi h business c ea ion, job c ea ion, and ax collec ion.
This esea ch goes o wa d based on esul s epo ed by Blanco Jiménez e al. (2023) and
Blanco Jiménez (2019) and del es in o he use o he da a ob ained by he Funcas su ey. The
esea ch eam goes a s ep u he and de elops he i s classi ica ion o business incuba o s in
Spain h ough a mul i a ia e analysis wi hou es ablishing ixed ac o s a p io i.
The objec i e o his wo k was o classi y business incuba o s in Spain acco ding o
hei he e ogenei y du ing he incuba ion p ocess phases. The e o e, his esea ch seeks
o deepen knowledge o he s ages ha s a ups go h ough in business incuba o s, i s
o ganiza ional model, and which he di e en ia ing ac o s we e. Fo his pu pose, a
ypology o business incuba o s in Spain was de eloped in ela ion o he incuba ion
phases o he s a ups, and hey we e subsequen ly cha ac e ized.
The business incuba o s we e classi ied acco ding o he indica o s o he di e en
phases o he incuba ion p ocess: 1: sp eading en ep eneu ship; Phase 2: p e-incuba ion;
Phase 3: basic-Incuba ion; and Phase 4: ad anced incuba ion. The g oups achie ed showed
high homogenei y wi hin he g oup and he e ogenei y be ween hen.
In a second s age, a cha ac e iza ion o he incuba o ypes was ca ied ou wi h he
g adua ion a iables and o he ope a ional a iables.
This esea ch will allow o classi y he business incuba o s, g ouping he di e en
ypes o incuba o s exis ing in Spain acco ding o i s ou incuba ion phases (sp eading
en ep eneu ship, p e-incuba ion, basic incuba ion, and ad anced incuba ion).
Deepening in he knowledge o he a iabili y easons will allow de eloping imp o e-
men ac ions ac ing on he key o ganiza ional ac o s. Addi ionally, his wo k will se e
o p omo e app op ia e and speci ic policies and s a egies o each business incuba o
iden i ied g oup. Likewise, i s subsequen cha ac e iza ion a o s he associa ion o he
g oups wi h he esul s and he emaining ope a ional a iables (dimension, p o ile, e c.).
The a iables in ol ed in he classi ica ion o business incuba o s could be ex ended
o o he scena ios, al hough modula ed by he di e en socioeconomic con ex .
A e his in oduc ion, his a icle will be o ganized as ollows: in Sec ion 2, he
me hodology will be p esen ed, including he popula ion, he su ey applied, and he
mul i a ia e s a is ical analysis used. In Sec ion 3, he esul s will be desc ibed, i s ly he
ypology o business incuba o s and hen i s cha ac e iza ion. Sec ion 4will p o ide a
discussion o he esul s. To end, Sec ion 5will desc ibe he conclusions, he limi a ions o
he s udy, and u u e lines o esea ch.
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
Fo he d a ing o his wo k, he su eys ha we e sen o all he business incuba o s
in Spain we e used o he p epa a ion o he Funcas epo , “The se ices p o ided by
incuba o s and accele a o s o companies in Spain. Ranking 2022/2023”. Funcas is a cen e
o analysis—a hink ank—dedica ed o economic and social esea ch and i s dissemina ion,
p omo ing he in e ac ion be ween he academic sphe e and he eal economy. I is pa o
he CECA Social Wo k.
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 7 o 24
Funcas has been, o many yea s, a benchma k in he ield o economic o ecas ing and
in he analysis o Spanish and EU public policies. A p esen , he Founda ion is also e y
ac i e in he ield o inance— inancial egula ion and digi aliza ion, inancial ma ke s—and
in a a ie y o social issues.
The Funcas anking on business incuba o s and accele a o s, which has aken en
edi ions, becomes a benchma k in he analysis o bes p ac ices in business incuba o s and
accele a o s in Spain.
2.1. Popula ion and Su ey
412 business incuba o s om Spain in 2022 we e aken as popula ion; 88 business
incuba o s ha pa icipa ed in he Funcas’ epo (21.36% o he whole) we e selec ed. Da a
we e collec ed by using Funcas’ su ey applied in Spain in 2022. The su ey included 62
ques ions ela ing o he ollowing aspec s: ope a i e and gene al da a (20 i ems), phases o
he business incuba o s (33), and su i al’s indica o s (9) (su ey applied in Table S1).
This esea ch was ca ied ou in se e al s eps: ques ionnai e design, da a collec ion om
he Funcas su ey in 2022; (Blanco e al. 2012;Blanco Jiménez 2019), and inally he mul i a ia e
da a analysis. Based on he li e a u e e iew, key indica o s o he business incuba o s we e
iden i ied, and a se o a iables was collec ed sui able o answe ing he esea ch ques ions.
Du ing his s age, inclusion o each i em was assessed by he esea ch g oup.
Subsequen ly, he ques ionnai e was applied using he ollowing p ocedu e: The
su ey was sen o he pe son in cha ge o each incuba o , including an email and elephone
numbe . In pa allel, he manage was con ac ed, explaining he impo ance o he ques ion-
nai e and how o answe i . Doub s and he in e p e a ion o he i ems we e also sol ed.
F om he e, a egula ela ionship usually a ises, wi h cons an eedback; imp o emen s
o he ques ionnai e we e p oposed; impo an in o ma ion o bo h pa ies ha should
appea in he inal epo s was highligh ed, among o he s. Thanks o his ela ionship, i
has been possible o main ain he FUNCAS ques ionnai e ac i ely o e ime.
2.2. S a is ical Analysis
In a i s s age, 33 business incuba o phases’ a iables we e selec ed (9 i ems linked o
phase 1 o sp eading, 9 o phase 2 o p e-incuba ion en e p ises, 9 associa ed wi h phase 3 o he
basic incuba ion phase, and inally 6 i ems o phase 4 o ad anced incuba ion). Howe e , in
Table 1. Business incuba ion phase a iables, we can also see 9 i ems om he g adua ion phase
and 6 i ems om he ope a ional phase, acco ding o he Funcas 2022–2023 Repo (Blanco
Jiménez e al. 2023). Acco ding o Niammuad e al. (2013), he c i e ia o a coe icien o a ia ion
highe han 60%, unco ela ed a iables, and non-linea dependence o he selec ion o he
a iables we e conside ed. A p incipal componen analysis (PC) was used o educe he numbe
o a iables and summa ize mos o he a iabili y (Capa ina e al. 2023). Based on he pa ial
co ela ion ma ix and he ini ial PC models, he numbe o a iables was educed o 23. In his
esea ch, eigh ac o s we e selec ed, and he o hogonal a imax o a ion was applied o ela e
mo e easily he selec ed a iables o he ex ac ed ac o s. The Ba le sphe ici y es and he
Kaise -Meye -Olkin index KMO > 0.7 (Gelasakis e al. 2012).
In a second s age, he business incuba o s we e classi ied using clus e analysis. Fi s ly,
hie a chical g oupings we e de eloped based on Wa d’s me hod, using he Euclidean,
squa ed Euclidean, and Manha an dis ances. The op imal numbe o clus e s was selec ed
using he Elbow me hod (Syaku e al. 2018;Shi e al. 2021). The clus e ing me hod whose
disc iminan unc ion co ec ly classi ied he highes pe cen age o cases was chosen, and i
gene a ed signi ican di e ences in he la ges numbe o o iginal a iables.
Addi ionally, he cha ac e iza ion o he business incuba o s was ca ied ou using
he p elimina y a iables (Table 2). Quan i a i e a iables (o iginal and adjus ed) we e
analyzed by means o a one-way analysis o a iance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s mul iple
ange es . Quali a i e a iables we e compa ed wi h he Chi
2
es . All s a is ical analyses
we e pe o med using he S a g aphics Cen u ion e sión XVI.1. so wa e h ps://www.
s a g aphics.com/download-s a g aphics-cen u ion-x i (accessed on 1 No embe 2024).
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 8 o 24
Table 1. Business incuba ion phase a iables.
Va iable Va iable Desc ip ion
SPREADING ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SP)
1.Ad ice P o ide an in o ma ion and ad iso y se ice o he gene al public.
2.Ad ice_ ee O e ing a se ice o ee.
3.Ad ice_nb How many e en s does he incuba o pe o m pe yea ?
4.E en s Does he business incuba o hold e en s ha aim o sp ead he
en ep eneu ial spi i ?
5.Nb_y How many e en s does he business incuba o hold pe yea ?
6.Channels
A e he e channels o in o ma ion/communica ion/p omo ion o se ices?
7.Publica _F ec Publica ion equency in communica ion channels.
8.T aing O e ing ans e sal cou ses and en ep eneu ship suppo cou ses.
9.T aing_F ec Numbe o cou ses o e ed pe mon h.
PRE-INCUBATION (PRE)
10.Sha _spac Exis ence o business p e-incuba o o cowo king acili y
11.Spac_ ee Exis ence o ee spaces o wo k
12.Space_ eq A e he e any equi emen s o en e he p e-incuba ion phase?
13.P oj_nb Numbe o p e-incuba ed p ojec s pe yea .
14.P oj_ad ice Ha ing expe consul ing sessions o p e-incuba o s.
15.P oj_mon The e is moni o ing o p e-incuba ed p ojec s.
16.P oj_ aing The e a e c oss-sec ional aining wo kshops.
17.P oj_M ime Numbe o yea s spen in he p e-incuba ion s age.
18.PAE Is he business incuba o an En ep eneu Ca e Poin (PAE)?
BASIC INCUBATION (INC)
19.En y The e a e selec ion c i e ia o access o incuba ion.
20.En y_c i Which a e he selec ion c i e ia o access o incuba ion?
21.Se ic Se ices included in he a e.
22.N _F ec F equency o ne wo king mee ings.
23.C_F ec F equency o consul ancy sessions.
24.Men _F ec F equency o men o ing sessions.
25.Mon_F ec F equency ollow-up o moni o ing sessions.
26.T aing O e o aining cou ses adap ed o he needs o clien s.
27.T aing_nb Numbe o cou ses o e ed pe mon h.
ADVANCED INCUBATION (ADV)
28.Nc_ag ee In e es g oups wi h which he incuba o has an ag eemen /collabo a ion
ag eemen .
29.Comp_exp Pe cen age o hos ed companies expo ing hei p oduc s.
30.Comp_ d Numbe o hos ed companies ha ha e aised unding while hos ed.
31.Comp_job A e age numbe o jobs gene a ed by he hos ed companies.
32.Inc_disc A special a e is o e ed on echnology se ices o p oduc s.
33.Inc_ag ee In e es g oups wi h which he incuba o has an ag eemen /collabo a ion
ag eemen .
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 15 o 24
he annual ope a ing income budge in he incuba o s (48.Re enue) showed signi ican
di e ences be ween clus e s (p< 0.05). The incuba o s in Clus e 2 ha e a highe le el o
income (scale e ec ) han he emaining g oups, and hose in G oup 3 showed in e media e
alues be ween Clus e 1 and 2. In Clus e 3, we ound business incuba o s wi h a low le el
o expenses and an in e media e le el o income. I could indica e he exis ence o a g oup
o small bu economically e icien business incuba o s. Resul s we e complemen a y o
Funcas’s anking 2022/2023 (Blanco Jiménez e al. 2023).
4. Discussion
The p og ess o s a ups in business incuba o s was seg ega ed in o ou phases:
sp eading, p e-incuba ion; basic incuba ion and ad anced incuba ion (Blanco Jiménez e al.
2023) In his esea ch, 33 a iables we e used ha ha e di e en e ec s on he incuba o s’
success: sp eading (9), p e-incuba ion (9), basic incuba ion (9), and ad anced incuba ion
(6). In addi ion, a g oup o esponse a iables we e selec ed, ela ed o he su i al a e
o he s a ups (9 a iables), and 20 gene al o ope a ional a iables we e conside ed o
cha ac e iza ion.
4.1. Va iable Iden i ica ion
The i s ac o was s ongly linked o Phase 2 o p e-incuba ion, he second ac o was
associa ed wi h he a iables o Phase 1 o incuba ion (sp eading); and he hi d ac o was
ela ed o Phase 3 o incuba ion (basic incuba ion). These h ee ac o s explained 41.91% o
he a iance. The emaining ac o s we e mainly linked o phase 1, sp eading.
The i s ac o ob ained was linked o p e-incuba ion a iables and was ocused on
an incuba ion’s sho phase wi h a du a ion be ween 4 and 6 mon hs. Howe e , his ac o
s ongly explained he high a iabili y be ween business incuba o s in Spain. Fu he mo e,
i was associa ed wi h he g adua ion a e and su i al o s a ups. In his phase, he
en ep eneu is ca ying ou his/he business plan wi h he suppo and ad ice o he
business incuba o echnicians. En ep eneu s in his phase we e also o e ed expe ad ice
and in o ma ion on inancing sou ces (Blanco Jiménez e al. 2023).
The app op ia e building o he business plan was posi i ely associa ed wi h he
su i al o he s a ups and hei iabili y in he ma ke (Gay án Co és 2020). The business
plan is a ool ha makes i easie o o ganiza ions o cha a ou e o achie e objec i es,
conside obs acles, and p opose solu ions o he de elopmen o ac i i ies in he u u e
(Pico e al. 2023). Likewise, he business plan helps o o ecas a con ingency plan in he
e en o possible dis u bances (Alonso González 2023;Bece a A dila e al. 2023). Also,
he esul s indica ed he impo ance o a compe i i e ope a i e s a in his i s phase o
p e-incuba ion o s a ups.
The second ac o ob ained in he analysis o p incipal componen s was he di usion
o he en ep eneu ial spi i (sp eading). Acco ding o Funcas (Blanco Jiménez e al. 2023).
Incuba o s in his phase cons i u e a e e ence o s a ups, o e ing expe suppo , aining
sessions, social ne wo ks, and aining in ools, among o he s (Lian 2020). Al hough i
is a p io i y o en ep eneu s o disco e he link be ween he s a up and he incuba o
and how his alliance con ibu es o g adua ion (Blanco Jiménez e al. 2023), i is a phase
o in o ma ion ga he ing whe e he en ep eneu has no s a ed he execu ion o his
p ojec bu has gone o he business incuba o o esol e doub s, ob ain ad ice, and ob ain
guidance ega ding his business idea (Lande os Ga cía e al. 2021). A his ini ial momen ,
he en ep eneu consul s wi h di e en ad iso y se ices and goes o di e en incuba o s,
so he app op ia e app oach o he p ojec and his us in he know-how o he s a
cons i u e an elemen o compe i i eness compa ed o o he incuba o s. The quali y o he
men o ing p o ided wi hin hese incuba o s depends on he incuba o s a , emphasizing
hei undamen al ole in guiding en ep eneu s in business de elopmen and s a egy
o mula ion (Awonuga e al. 2024).
Rega ding he hi d ac o , basic incuba ion, acco ding o he Funcas anking, in his
phase, en ep eneu s ha e al eady ma u ed hei business ideas, s udied hei iabili y, and,

Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 16 o 24
he e o e, con e ed hei idea in o a business p ojec . I is he go- o ma ke phase in which
he planned p ojec is ca ied ou (Paoloni and Moda a i 2022). I is he mos c i ical s age
o an en ep eneu in which en ep eneu s mus be p o ided wi h an especially a o able
g ow h en i onmen , and a se ies o speci ic esou ces and se ices mus be made a ailable
o hem, which allows hem o success ully each he ma u i y o he p ojec . This ac o is a
p io i y acco ding o he s udy by Funcas (Blanco Jiménez e al. 2023); howe e , he esul s
o he esea ch elega ed i o hi d place, and i only explained 6.86% o he a iabili y.
The a iables ha made up ad anced incuba ion did no appea o be e y ele an in
he s udy o he phases o s a ups in he incuba o . Acco ding o Redondo and Cama e o
(2017), Rome o e al. (2020), Salas Laime (2021), and Ba ios Za a and Gómez (2021), in
he ad anced incuba ion phase, companies de elop in e na ionaliza ion s a egies, seek
new inancing, scale up p oduc ion, and en e a g ow h phase. Du ing he p e ious phases,
p e-incuba ion and basic incuba ion, s a ups ace he “ alley o dea h”, a s age in which
companies a e de eloping hei business p ojec and a e no ye sol en ; hey do no
gene a e enough p o i s o co e all hei cos s, and ha las s un il sales s abilize.
Once his pe iod has ended, a ound wo o h ee yea s o li e (depending on he
economic sec o in which he s a up ope a es), he companies begin o scale, so he
suppo o he business incuba o s a o s he p ojec s, bu i is no as de ini i e o hei
su i al as in he p e ious s ages (Zapa a-Molina e al. 2022;Momin e al. 2023). A his
s age, companies no mally need capi al o inance hei g ow h o o make he leap in o
in e na ional ma ke s. This capi al is no always p o ided by business incuba o s, so he
impo ance o he incuba o o he su i al o he company is no so ele an .
4.2. Bussines Incuba o s Typology
Th ee g oups o clus e s made up he popula ion o Spanish business incuba o s,
which we e subsequen ly cha ac e ized wi h he ou pu a iables: bo h gene al and g adu-
a ion. G oup 1 (16% o business incuba o s) was he smalles and had ma kedly nega i e
alues in he cen oids wi h espec o he i s h ee ac o s. This g oup ep esen s hose
incuba o s wi h mo e s uc u al de ici s and lowe g adua ion a es. G oup 2 (30% o
he sample) cons i u es he leading g oup wi h posi i e alues in all ac o s and s ongly
posi i e in ac o s 1 and 2. I b ings oge he he la ges business incuba o s and highes
g adua ion a es. The analysis also showed ac o s whe e i is necessa y o ocus imp o e-
men s. G oup 3 (54%) is an in e media e g oup wi h posi i e alues in i s ac o s, al hough
low and close o ze o. This g oup is clea ly he ecipien o imp o emen policies, and,
wi hin i , di e en s a egies a e de eloped.
Deepening he knowledge o he ypology o incuba o s is o g ea in e es because
i helps in p o iding he s a ups wi h esou ces and suppo adap ed o speci ic needs.
Fo example, echnology-based en e p ises (ETBE) o en use incuba o s o con ol cos s
and access specialized esou ces. ETBTs change incuba o s as hei needs e ol e, showing
he gap be ween needs and se ices (Yusubo a e al. 2019). Incuba o s o e ne wo king
se ices, capi al suppo , and aining p og ams, which a e essen ial o he g ow h o s a -
ups. Mo eo e , specialized incuba o s encou age knowledge exchange, s ong ne wo ks,
and g ea e ne wo k communica ion capaci y (Haide 2023). The ype o inno a ion ha
business incuba o s gene a e also a ies depending on he ype o incuba o . Fo example,
uni e si y and p i a e business incuba o s a e mo e likely o os e echnological p oduc
and p ocess inno a ions (Rama and Magheswa i 2023). O e all, he ype o business
incuba o (whe he comme cial, social, uni e si y, o o he ) plays a c i ical ole in shaping
he esou ces, suppo , and inno a ion oppo uni ies a ailable o s a ups and, ul ima ely,
i in luences hei de elopmen and success.
By classi ying incuba o s based on he p og ams hey o e , such as i wi h p og am
objec i es, uniqueness o ideas, and s anda d selec ion ools, incuba o s can imp o e hei
pe o mance and a ac in es o s looking o speci ic a ibu es acco ding o in es men
objec i es (Kinya e al. 2021). This anking can also se e as a ce i ica ion o s a up
quali y, inc easing he likelihood ha en u e capi alis s (VCs) will und s a ups ha
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 17 o 24
ha e been incuba ed in highly p es igious p og ams (Manconi e al. 2022;Rukmana e al.
2023) The e o e, s a egic anking and ne wo king o incuba o s no only imp o es hei
ope a ional pe o mance bu also imp o es hei unding p ospec s by adap ing o he
speci ic needs and expec a ions o in es o s and unding bodies.
4.3. Business Indica ions Cha ac e iza ion
In his phase, he ypologies o incuba o s ob ained based on he ope a ional a iables
and g adua ion a e we e cha ac e ized. When he clus e s ob ained we e aced wi h
he ope a i e a iables and hose ela ed o he success a e, di e ences be ween clus e s
we e ound.
Business incuba o s wi h be e g adua ion esul s (G oup 2 and 3) showed a highe
le el o ne wo k use, ma king signi ican di e ences wi h hose o G oup 1. On he o he
hand, hose incuba o s loca ed in indus ial and echnological pa ks imp o e he esul s.
On he con a y, hose in he u al wo ld o loca ed in ci ies dec ease hei esul s. The de-
e mining ac o s o success in he s a ups hos ed in he business incuba o s we e linked o
he success o he p e-incuba ion phase, secondly, he dissemina ion o he en ep eneu ial
spi i (sp eading) and he hi d ac o was ela ed o he basic incuba ion (Phase 3).
Communica ion a iables de e mined signi ican di e ences be ween clus e s and he
esul s. Communica ion was app op ia e in Clus e 2 and Clus e 3, and poo in Clus e 1.
Communica ion was ela ed o he g adua ion a e. So, an imp o emen in communica ion
has an impac on imp o ing esul s and con ibu es o a oiding business ailu e (Nai and
Blomquis 2019).
These esul s we e in acco dance wi h he analysis o ela ional coo dina ion (De
Es eban Escoba 2020) and ailo ed capabili ies (Bas anchu y e al. 2019). In his sense,
his analysis is aligned o he s udy by Wu e al. (2021), who ela ed in e nal and ex e nal
ne wo ks wi h he incuba o and business g ow h. I has been epo ed a posi i e co ela-
ion be ween ne wo ks, pe o mance, acili ies o e ed by he incuba o , and links wi h he
uni e si y (Ki an and Bose 2020).
The dimension showed signi ican di e ences be ween clus e s, so ha he small
incuba o s a e loca ed in G oup 1, he medium ones in G oup 3, and he la ge ones in
G oup 2. Likewise, he dimension was linked o he g adua ion a es. Tha is, he la ge
he dimension, he s uc u e o he business incuba o s was modi ied, and he g adua ion
a e was imp o ed (Bas anchu y e al. 2019;Oh e al. 2018). No mally, a la ge business
incuba o will ha e mo e capi al, mo e s a , and possibili ies o suppo a g ea e numbe
o en ep eneu s, as poin ed ou by se e al au ho s (Alpenidze e al. 2019).
The business incuba o s o G oup 2 and some o G oup 3 showed high success a es,
and we e signi ican ly linked o posi i e alues in: (a) he exis ence o ag eemen s o he
ins alla ion o he company ou side he incuba o (B ei ik-Meye e al. 2020); (b) a e -sales
se ice o he egula main enance o con ac be ween he incuba o and he en e p ise,
once i lea es he incuba o (Zapa a-Gue e o e al. 2021); (c) he exis ence o aining and
moni o ing ac ions o g adua es (Cha es-Maza and Fed iani 2022;Lian 2020); (d) he
pe cen age o en u es inanced wi h p i a e unds (Alpenidze e al. 2019); (e) high a es o
con inui y o ac i i y once he incuba o s we e abandoned (Díaz Macías and Mo a Macías
2019;Pa edes e al. 2020;De Es eban Escoba 2020;Gay án Co és 2020).
In Table 7, we p opose a Bes Managemen P ac ices Guide (BMPs) buil om he
esul s o he ACP, clus e esul s, and he opinions o he g oup o expe s. This guide
is ocused on he key decisions wi hin each g oup and could help o make be e deci-
sions in business incuba o s depending on hei s a egic posi ioning o each g oup o
business incuba o s.
Classi ying business incuba o s in o di e en ca ego ies helps o unde s and he e olu-
ion o hei social and economic ele ance. Fu he mo e, business incuba o s ha e demon-
s a ed impo an social bene i s, especially in he con ex o he COVID-19 pandemic, by
p omo ing business ini ia i es ha con ibu e o sus ainable economic de elopmen and
social well-being (Rama and Magheswa i 2023). The ole o incuba o s as social inno a-
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 18 o 24
ions is also highligh ed by hei abili y o suppo business de elopmen wi h a social
pu pose, as seen in he case o Kompleks Indus i Makanan MARA (KIMAR) in Malaysia,
which p omo es socio-economic empowe men among indigenous popula ions (Adham
e al. 2019). Fu he mo e, he po en ial o business incuba o s as educa ional and aining
cen e s is emphasized, p epa ing young people wi h he skills necessa y o h i e in he
global knowledge economy and add essing he u gen need o c ea e employmen (Diawa i
and Suges i 2023). Finally, he economic and social p o i abili y o business incuba o s is
ecognized, wi h s udies showing ha socie y eco e s i s in es men se e al imes o e
h ough axes, unde sco ing hei inancial iabili y and he need o con inuous imp o e-
men in hei ope a ions (Sen ana e al. 2018). The e o e, ypi ying business incuba o s
no only helps op imize hei unc ions bu also highligh s hei mul i ace ed impac on
economic g ow h, social inno a ion, and educa ional de elopmen .
Table 7. Bes managemen p ac ices guide (BMPs) by clus e .
G oup Phase-Fac o s BMPs
Ac ion o Business Incuba o s
P ac ical Applica ion
1
P e-incuba ion-
Fac o 1, Fac o 4
sp eading-
Fac o 2
basic incuba ion-Fac o
a. T aining and
men o ing p og ams
b. Imp o emen in
communica ion
c. Scale up
Specialized suppo , aining
sessions, social ne wo ks,
aining in inancial ools,
s a egy o mula ion
✓✓✓✓✓
2
P e-incuba ion-
Fac o 1
Incuba ion
Fac o 2
a. Specialized
echnician aining
b. Collabo a ion
ag eemen s c. Suppo
business plan
Regula echnical suppo and
men o ing om business
incuba o s. Ag eemen ,
egula ions, subsidies, e c.
✓✓✓✓
3
Basic incuba ion,
sp eading, and
p e-incuba ion
a. T aining and
men o ing p og ams
b. Specialized suppo
ne wo king se ices
Complex ag eemen s
in e na ionalizing se ices.
Ex e nal suppo
✓✓✓
Among he main limi a ions o he s udy, he ollowing ones can be highligh ed:
his mul i a ia e s udy is explo a o y and should be complemen ed wi h o he s udies
ha quan i y he causal ela ionship be ween business incuba ions, su i al, and success
a e. The sample is su icien and b oad bu should be inc eased wi h a la ge size o BI,
p i a e, and o he socioeconomic con ex s, which would allow he esul s o be ex ended o
o he con ex s.
Anyway, his esea ch con i ms ha he e iciency o business incuba o s is closely
linked o hei abili y o adap o a changing en i onmen . Incuba o s should conside
mul i-sec o app oaches, p o ide ex ensi e inancial and educa ional suppo , and align
wi h he digi al economy. Fu he mo e, he o ganiza ional model highligh s he need
o obus in o ma ion managemen sys ems o suppo decision-making and s a egy o
imp o e p ocess e iciency.
5. Conclusions
This esea ch has allowed us o deepen ou knowledge o business incuba o s du ing
he s a up incuba ion phases.
The i s esea ch p oblem was he high di e si y o business incuba o s and he e o-
genei y in he o ganiza ional p ocess. In his sense, he applica ion o mul i a ia e analysis
(p incipal componen s and clus e ) in he ou s a ups incuba ion phases (sp eading,
p e-incuba ion, basic incuba ion, and ad anced incuba ion) educed he dimensionali y
and g ouped 74% o he a iance in o 8 ac o s. P incipal componen s analysis Fac o
1 was posi i ely ela ed o p e-incuba ion a iables; ac o 2 was linked o aining and
collabo a ion a iables wi hin he sp eading phase. Fac o 3 was called moni o ing and
con ol o ac i i y and was ela ed o a iables om phase 3, o basic incuba ion.
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 291 19 o 24
The second goal was o build he ypology o business incuba o s in Spain. The
ypology a o ed he g ouping o he business incuba o s in o h ee clus e s. Clus e 1 (16%
o he o al) collec ed incuba o s wi h a g ea de ici in phase 2, phase 1, and phase 3.
Finally, he ypes o business incuba o s we e cha ac e ized. Small-size incuba o s
we e p edominan , equen ly loca ed in u al a eas o ci ies, and had a low g adua ion
a e. Clus e 2 (30%) incuba o s wi h a e y high g adua ion a e and s ongly posi i e
alues in ac o s 1 and 2. In his g oup, ac o 3 was posi i e, al hough suscep ible o
imp o emen . They a e he la ges size incuba o s and we e usually loca ed in indus ial
and echnological pa ks. Clus e 3 (54%) is he majo i y, wi h in e media e alues. They
showed in e media e size, and hei begins wi h ac o s 1 and 2. In his g oup he e a e
some e y e icien incuba o s, wi h medium size and high g adua ion a e.
The ypology o business incuba o s de eloped in Spain acili a es hei sepa a ion in o
homogeneous g oups ha could help o ganiza ions o make be e decisions and speci y
measu es om business incuba o manage s. A a la e s age, ano he s ep should be aken
and linked o he en ep eneu ship’s success.
Banha e al. (2022) o e a holis ic app oach ha helps policymake s by conside ing
a ious ac o s and poin s o iew. Fu he mo e, knowing which g oup each business
incuba o is loca ed in a o s he de elopmen o speci ic public policies acco ding o
hei p oblems. Simple ac o s we e also iden i ied ha could be modi ied and lead o an
imp o emen in he g adua ion a e.
In subsequen s udies, i is ecommended o deepen in he quan i a i e knowledge
o he ela ionship be ween incuba ion phases and g adua ion. These goals could be
add essed wi h s a is ical echniques such as s uc u al equa ion modeling by he pa -
ial leas squa es me hod (PLS-SEM) in o de o quan i y possible causal ela ionships
be ween cons uc o s.
Supplemen a y Ma e ials: The ollowing suppo ing in o ma ion can be downloaded a : h ps:
//www.mdpi.com/a icle/10.3390/admsci14110291/s1, Table S1. Business incuba o s su ey.
Au ho Con ibu ions: Concep ualiza ion, A.A.-C. and A.G.M.; me hodology, A.A.-C. and C.D.-P.-H.;
so wa e, F.J.B.J.; alida ion, C.D.-P.-H., A.A.-C. and A.G.M.; o mal analysis, A.A.-C.; in es iga ion,
A.A.-C., A.G.M., C.D.-P.-H.; da a cu a ion F.J.B.J. and A.A.-C.; w i ing—o iginal d a p epa a ion,
A.A.-C. and A.G.M.; w i ing— e iew and edi ing, C.D.-P.-H. and A.A.-C.; supe ision F.J.B.J. and
C.D.-P.-H. All au ho s ha e been in ol ed in de eloping, w i ing, commen ing, edi ing, and e iew-
ing he manusc ip . All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed o he published e sion o he manusc ip .
Funding: This esea ch ecei ed no ex e nal unding.
Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d S a emen : The s udy was conduc ed in acco dance wi h he Decla a ion
o Helsinki, and app o ed by he Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d o Rey Juan Ca los Uni e si y (p o ocol
code: V1025, da e o app o al: 24 Ma ch 2024).
In o med Consen S a emen : In o med consen was ob ained om all subjec s in ol ed in he s udy.
Da a A ailabili y S a emen : This is no applicable as he da a a e no in any da a eposi o y o
public access, howe e i edi o ial commi ee needs access, we will happily p o ide hem, please use
his email: [email p o ec ed].
Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic s o in e es .
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