Business incubation and acceleration process: theoretical foundation

Abstract

This paper develops the theoretical foundation for the business incubation and acceleration process. Global trends determine the features of modern research and development processes ("sharing economy", "open innovation concept"). These tendencies contribute to growing the role of partnership within the entreprenerurial ecosystem. Therefore, business incubators and accelerators are the crucial elements of innovative infrastructure. In the paper, the definition of the business incubation and acceleration models was determined. Furthermore, three generations of incubation model development depending on the value proposition for the participating ventures were described (since 1980-early 1990s; during 1990s; 2001 -to date). Accelerator could be understood as the new business incubator mechanism.The role of business incubators as the tool for economic development are the following: high positive impact on economic growth, increasing the competitiveness of companies in the market by providing comprehensive service (assistance) to entrepreneurs at all scales of business (micro-, small and medium-sized businesses). The role of business accelerators is considered in the context of business support institute development. Therefore, the benefits from business accelerators could be classified for different stakeholders group: startups, investors and policymakers.In particular, the comparative analysis of business incubators and accelerators in a knowledge-based economy presented. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/ Development Assistance Committee's (DAC) Quality Standards for Development Evaluation are suggested for consideration by a startup's team to choose the incubator or acceleration program. In the article, the business incubation process is described. Finally, the paper indicates the key educational approaches for acceleration program -Disciplined Entrepreneurship, the Lean Startup methodology, and Design Thinking.

The Essence of the Business Accelerator as a Driving Trigger of Entrepreneurship Development

“…The genesis of the ecosystem of innovative development can be traced in the research of O. Malyarchuk [4][5], which distinguishes three generations of the development of the incubation model depending on the value proposition for the participating enterprises [4]:…”