Improving business incubator service performance in China: the role of networking resources and capabilities

Abstract

This research analyses the relationships between resources and capabilities in IntroductionThe resource-based view of business (RBV) has been widely adopted over the past few decades to explain competitiveness and heterogeneity in the field of management (Foss & Ishikawa, 2007). The use of this perspective has largely been confined to firms operating in non-service industries, with an early influential application of RBV to services by Bharadwaj, Varadarajan, and Fahy (1993) to understand competitive advantage in service industries. The application of the RBV specifically to services, with intangible outputs and high customer involvement, has been limited and we seek to make a contribution in this area. Under consideration in the present research is the 'business incubator' which provides a service the fledgling firms by providing assistance and support to accelerate client growth (Sung, Gibson, & Kang, 2003). Success requires careful application of the possessed resources, the expansion of capabilities, and interactions within the incubator and also in the wider business network. There is a paucity of research on the use and role of resources and capabilities in incubators and how the possessed resources and capabilities impact on the service performance. Entrepreneurism is increasingly important in China, generating greater interest inThis is an electronic version of an article published as: Lin, D., . Improving business incubator service performance in China: The role of networking resources and capabilities. The Service Industries Journal, 32(13), 2091-2114. doi:10.1080/02642069.2011.582498. The article is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10. 1080/02642069.2011.582498 incubator services . As government policy is frequently used as a tool to direct developments (Chen, 2006) it is necessary to understand whether benefits from government policies playing an important role in the success of incubators. The key research question explored is: Which resources and capabilities do Chinese incubators find most useful in improving their service success? The answer will allow incubator directors to invest their energy developing requisite resources and capabilities to improve their success.The paper commences with an introduction and background for the study provided by a literature review, culminating in development of hypotheses. A short case is presented.Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analyse survey data and validate hypotheses.Conclusions are provided and limitations of the study are discussed before outlining areas for future research. Literature reviewRBV is presently the dominant theory that explains interfirm performance differences (Hoopes, Madsen, & Walker, 2003). Resources of a firm "include all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, etc. controlled by a firm that enable the firm to conceive of and implement strategies" (Barney, 1991, p. 101).Organisations are repositories of capabilities, knowledge, and resources;...

Comparative Analysis of the Level of Satisfaction with the Services Received at the Business Incubators (Hazleton, PA, USA and Gliwice, Poland)

“…Previous research and analysis of business incubators focused on how the incubator functions as a beneficiary and how they are financed. In this previous research conducted in various countries, including the USA and Korea [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]60], it was noticed that in the functioning of incubators, it is important that they are supported by local businesses and entrepreneurs, entities who impact the development of new technologies. Conducted research in Ireland has made it possible to indicate that resources accumulated in incubators are important for the development of enterprises.…”

“…Lin posits that [13] the links between Integrated Service Capabilities and Service Performance in analyzed incubator centers was very weak and negative. According to Tang [22], government-supported incubators are relatively ineffective in providing access to external capital or business-related consulting and networking services, but government-supported business incubators are generally effective in providing physical infrastructure, office support, and access to resources of university and public research institutes.…”

Social networks in entrepreneurial startups development

“…Attention is paid to individual elements of the startup ecosystem, e.g. incubators (Lin et al, 2012;Adlešič & Slavec, 2012) or universities (Rasmussen et al, 2015). Hoang & Yi (2015) review study says that the networks allow getting the capital (including financial capital) from angel investors and venture capitalists, access to information and resources for internationalization, access to intangible resources, and reputation.…”

Assessing Startup Performance: "Case Study at National Business Incubator"

“…Measurement statements in the questionnaire are measured using a Likert scale with a scale of 1-7. This study uses the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis method, a multivariate technique that combines aspects of multiple regression and factor analysis to estimate correlations that are interdependent Meanwhile, conclude several definitions that SEM has characteristics that are as analytical techniques that function to be more asserting than explaining.SEM is a multivariate technique that functions to combine aspects of multiple regression and factor analysis to estimate the interdependence relationship between variables used in the research model simultaneously [5].…”