“…The crucial question, as to whether incubation acts as means to overcome the resource deficiencies start-up firms face in the first years after the market entry (Hannan and Freeman 1984;Stinchcombe 1965), can only be answered by tracking the performance of incubated ventures after they have completed their incubation period (Hackett and Dilts, 2004;Hannon and Chaplin, 2003;Rothaermel and Thursby, 2005;Schwartz, 2009). Although, specifically in Germany, scholars are cautiously optimistic regarding the survival benefits of incubation (Seeger, 1997;Elle et al, 1997;Pleschak and Werner, 1999), an empirical analysis is currently nonexistent.…”