Exploring causal recipes of startup acceptance into business incubators: a cross-country study

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to outline the influence of various combinations of antecedent conditions for startups being accepted into business incubators in Italy and Romania. The degree to which these conditions affect acceptance is referred to here as the Business Ideas Acceptance Degree (BIAD). The antecedent conditions considered are business idea potential, business plan quality, entrepreneurial team features, business project progress stage, available financial resources, debts of potential incubated companies, commitment to apply for national/EU funds, business area related to incubator mission, proposed technological content level, technological transfer from university/research centres and spin-off of a partner-entity of the incubator.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological toolkit used was mixed: correlation-based analysis (CBA), machine learning (ML) techniques and fsQCA. Principal component analysis enabled the selection of the most representative antecedent conditions from both business incubator samples in Italy and Romania, further used in fsQCA analyses. XGBoost algorithm has been also used. K-Means clustering, an unsupervised learning algorithm that groups unlabeled dataset into different clusters, led to the configuration of two clusters associated to each of the countries involved in this study (Romania and Italy).FindingsThe findings reveal the differences between the different antecedent conditions that can contribute to startups being accepted into business incubators in Italy and Romania. The validation of the fsQCA equifinality principle in both samples shows that the selected antecedent conditions, mixed in combinations of “causal recipes”, lead to a high BIAD by business incubators from both countries.Originality/valueThis study reveals the differences between different antecedent conditions, capable to contribute to the start-up acceptance within business incubators from Italy and Romania. Furthermore, the validation of fsQCA equifinality principle in both samples highlight that the selected antecedent conditions, mixed in combinations of causal recipes, lead to a high degree of business ideas' acceptance in business incubators.

Hidden stories and the dark side of entrepreneurial commitment

“…These profiles demonstrate that overinvestment is driven by a complex combination of commitment forms among nascent entrepreneurs, with affective commitment standing as a necessary condition of overinvestment. From a methodological point of view, the study further confirms the suitability and promise of non-linear (asymmetric) research in entrepreneurship to advance the understanding of complex issues that may have a multiplicity of explanations (Capatina et al, 2023;Huarng and Yu, 2022;Santos et al, 2021). The study suggests that when high levels of complexity appear (i.e.…”

“…As such, fsQCA fits best with our study aim because it can demonstrate if and which combinations of commitment forms lead nascent entrepreneurs to overinvest in their entrepreneurial venture (Capatina et al, 2023;Santos et al, 2021), revealing asymmetries that are otherwise hidden in the data (Douglas et al, 2020). This is fundamental for entrepreneurship scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to comprehend the complexity between cognitive, emotional, and behavioral issues (Brundin and Gustafsson, 2013;Kurdoglu et al, 2022;Williamson et al, 2021), as it can enrich our understanding for both innovative theoretical formulations (Leppanen et al, 2019) and practical implications, such as supporting entrepreneurs at the emotional and psychological level.…”

Enablers of students' entrepreneurial intentions: findings from PLS-SEM and fsQCA

“…Individual's belief in their capacity to accomplish a variety of tasks must be enhanced, and their drive to launch a business must be strengthened through university support (Anjum et al, 2021). Capatina et al (2023) reported the prominent role of technological transfer from universities and research centres to the business incubation process. Mshenga et al (2020) found that graduates' intention to launch a business is most strongly predicted by their optimistic attitude.…”

The role of social start-ups in entrepreneurial behaviour: the search for efficiency

“…The notion that these organisations choose ideas with the highest chances of success is important. The profile of entrepreneurs can play a decisive role (Capatina et al. , 2023).…”

“…The notion that these organisations choose ideas with the highest chances of success is important. The profile of entrepreneurs can play a decisive role (Capatina et al, 2023). found evidence of the role of authenticity in the founding team and social duty as discriminatory criteria for incubators.…”