An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

Abstract

In the context of incubators, particularly those that are driven to achieving social objectives, this paper investigates core processes that support the development of social innovation. Social innovation, as this paper argues, is underpinned by a new form of social collaboration and engagement built upon strong forms of sharing knowledge and learning. Coupled with this is the element of social capital reinforced by entrepreneurship and leadership that promotes sustainability in the community. These factors drive innovative thinking and ways of engaging among stakeholders in order to create new forms of socio-economic impact. Such value-creating activity occurs in firms that operate within incubators involving a wide range of stakeholders who work through networks to co-create and meet social challenges. Through a case study of a social incubator and an incubatee, we demonstrate the core processes that irradiate the argument on social innovation. The contribution of this paper is threefold: First, social innovation is an emerging area of research, of which there is a dearth in terms of examining the processes empirically. We address the gap in this field by demonstrating the value of social collaboration and engagement using different innovation models. Second, we establish links between social innovation and incubation using the concept of social capital. This allows us to achieve our third contribution: exemplification of a dyadic value-based partnership and collaboration processes between an incubator and an incubatee, through activities driven by social innovation that aim to have social impact. The paper concludes with practice implications and suggests directions for future research.

Building relationship innovation in global collaborative partnerships: big data analytics and traditional organizational powers

“…For examples, firms that contract manufacturing activities in the developing countries might not necessarily demand higher levels of innovative practices observed in their home country, as the targeted partners in developing country have limited sources for innovation (Frooman, ; Terpend and Ashenbaum, ). In global agri‐food collaborative partnerships that are linked with developed and developing countries (Akhtar et al, ), traditional powers have been fragmented and they can have different effects on relationship innovation (Akhtar, ; Nicolopoulou et al, ). Also, the mediated power can reduce trust and satisfaction between collaborative partners, hindering innovative practices (Tachizawa and Wong, ).…”

The Effects of Knowledge Spillovers and Accelerator Programs on the Product Innovation of High-Tech Start-Ups: A Multiple Case Study

“…In particular, accelerator programmes provide short term training, access to industry experts, and the opportunity to access a network of companies, These feature predominantly in cities that present high economic growth [15,45]. Attendance of an accelerator or open ended incubator program provides the opportunity to use facilities that reduce operational costs and provide access to necessary assets to run a company in the early stages [46].…”

“…The capacity and services provided in such programmes act as mechanisms that enable access to knowledge spillovers outside the boundaries of a geographical location [30,18]. Hence, accelerator programmes and incubators can influence the development of start-ups by providing strategic advice and technical knowledge to achieve short and long term goals [46]. Sources of knowledge in these start-up support systems include entrepreneurial events that can be exploited to increase exposure of business ideas to investors and to engage with potential partners to develop collaborations [43,44].…”

“…Therefore, it can be stated that the acquisition of knowledge spillovers from accelerators and incubators would further affect the formation of alliances and improve the absorptive capacity of start-ups [46]. Furthermore, start-ups seek to engage in accelerator programmes to create the initial documentation required to gain funding, credibility and reputation.…”

Los factores de los ecosistemas de innovación y sus implicaciones en las incubadoras empresariales

“…78-102, ISSN: 2550 -682XDentro del ecosistema de innovación es fundamental la forma en que sus actores interactúan para producir, difundir y usar el nuevo conocimiento e información que sea económicamente útil(Ríos & Hernández, 2003). De acuerdo conCrevoisier (2004) el medio innovador combina tres modelos, (1) tecnológico, centrado en la innovación y el aprendizaje, (2) organizacional, refiere a la importancia de las redes y la cooperación entre empresas, y, (3) territorial, enfatiza la proximidad y competencia regional(Nicolopoulou, Karatas-Ozkan, Nummann, & Vas, 2015).En base a lo analizado previamente se determina que la relación existente entre los ecosistemas de innovación y las incubadoras, es esencial para el desarrollo empresarial, puesto que ambos se involucran activamente con los factores del medio innovador, por ejemplo las universidades, elemento del ecosistema de innovación, conjuntamente con las incubadoras impulsan al desarrollo de proyectos innovadores, y transformar ideas en negocios, brindando las herramientas necesarias para reducir la tasa de mortalidad empresarial(Mahlmann, Rodríguez, Ferrari, & Bueno, 2014).Factores de los ecosistemas de innovaciónLos factores principales de un entorno favorable al emprendimiento y la innovación de acuerdo con el GEM son: acceso a financiamiento, políticas gubernamentales, nivel de educación, investigación y desarrollo, trasferencia tecnológica, normas sociales y culturales(Camino & Aguilar, 2017). De la misma maneraEdquist y Lundvall (1993) sugieren que pueden ser similares en aspectos como el lenguaje, cultura, niveles y formas de vida, patrones de consumo, tamaño del sector público y fortaleza de los tratados comerciales(Ríos & Hernández, 2003).En relación a la literatura revisada, varios autores concuerdan en que los factores que incentivan la innovación y el emprendimiento en un ecosistema de innovación, además de fortalecer las relaciones entre los participantes de una incubadora, son: Educación, Parques científicos, Políticas, Programas Gubernamentales y Tecnología (Tabla 1); estos serán estudiados a continuación.…”