Esta pesquisa apresenta os resultados obtidos do estudo sobre a sobrevivência de empresas de base tecnológica (EBTs) pós-incubadas, a partir da ação empreendedora. A hipótese nula formulada, segundo a qual as ações do empreendedor para mobilização e uso dos recursos não influenciam a sobrevivência das empresas de base tecnológica pós-incubadas foi testada e rejeitada. Dessa forma, foi observado que tais ações influenciam positivamente a sobrevivência de EBTs. A diretriz teórica que orientou este estudo foi a da teoria da visão baseada em recursos, que aborda a função dos recursos na sobrevivência de empresas. Utilizaram-se dois enfoques de pesquisa, de natureza quantitativa e qualitativa, a partir do uso dos métodos survey e estudo de caso. O survey foi realizado com uma amostra não probabilística de 92 empresas, extraídas de um universo de 1025 EBTs pós-incubadas. As técnicas utilizadas para tratamento e análise dos dados foram de estatística descritiva e Modelagem em Equações Estruturais com estimação por mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS-PM). O estudo qualitativo foi realizado a partir do método de estudo de caso e investigou três unidades de pesquisa a partir de critérios pré-estabelecidos. Os achados da pesquisa demonstraram que há uma relação entre recursos e sobrevivência de empresas, confirmando conhecimentos anteriores da teoria da visão baseada em recursos. Achados mais específicos revelaram que o conjunto de ações dos empreendedores, e não ações isoladas, realizadas para mobilizar e usar os recursos foram determinantes para sustentar a sobrevivência das EBTs estudadas. As ações realizadas foram para contratação de técnicos e gerentes, obtenção de recursos financeiros por meio de capital próprio ou de capitalistas de risco, obtenção de recursos por meio financiamentos ou subvenções, aquisição de equipamentos, softwares e demais infraestrutura física de pesquisa, realização de patenteamento e aquisição de licenças. Resultados relacionados aos recursos de conhecimento também demonstraram que as empresas pesquisadas não são geradoras de inovações radicais. Na sua maioria, essas empresas aperfeiçoam tecnologias já existentes, gerando, portanto, inovações incrementais. / This research presents the results obtained from the study about the survival of technology-based firms (TBFs) post-incubated, from the entrepreneurial action. The null hypothesis formulated, according to which the actions of the entrepreneur for mobilization and use of resources does not influence the survival of technology-based companies post-incubated was tested and rejected. Thus, it was observed that such actions positively influence the survival of TBFs. The theoretical guideline that oriented this study was the theory of the resource-based view, which addresses the role of resources in the survival of companies. We used two approaches to research, quantitative and qualitative, from the use of survey and case study methods. The survey was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 92 companies, drawn from a universe of 1025 post-incubated TBFs. The techniques used for processing and data analysis were descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling with estimation by partial least squares (SEM-PLS). The qualitative study was performed using the case study method and investigated three research units from preestablished criteria. The research findings showed that there is a relationship between resources and survival of businesses, confirming previous knowledge of the theory of resource-based view. More specific findings revealed that the set of entrepreneurial actions, not isolated actions, undertaken to mobilize and use resources were crucial to sustain the survival of TBFs studied. The actions were taken to hiring managers and technicians, obtaining funds through equity or venture capitalists, obtaining funds through financing or grants, purchase of equipment, software and other physical infrastructure for research, patenting and acquisition of licenses. Results related to knowledge resources also showed that the surveyed companies are not generating radical innovations. Most of these companies improve existing technologies, generating, therefore, incremental innovations.

A presente tese tem por objetivo traçar um perfil dos empreendedores universitários atuantes em incubadoras de empresas e empresas juniores. Para tanto, realizamos uma pesquisa qualitativa junto a estudantes de engenharia, integrantes da POLI-Júnior, e empresários envolvidos em inovação tecnológica, incubados no CIETEC. Após uma breve apresentação, no primeiro capítulo, procuramos conceituar quem são os empreendedores. Exibiremos também, no primeiro capítulo, alguns dados acerca da recente expansão na criação de incubadoras de empresas e empresas juniores no Brasil. No segundo capítulo, fizemos uma revisão bibliográfica a partir das contribuições que a economia e a sociologia do conhecimento deram ao tema. Preferimos enquadrar o problema de pesquisa no bojo da teoria dos campos. No terceiro capítulo, o tema da tese é situado no quadro histórico das políticas públicas para C&T e da trajetória da comunidade de pesquisa brasileira. No quarto capítulo, apresentamos a amostra e o âmbito de pesquisa, os métodos e técnicas empregados no trabalho de campo. Lançamos ainda hipóteses conforme as quais o empreendedorismo representaria a nova face das recentes tentativas de reforma universitária e estreitamento das relações entre pesquisa e mercado. No quinto capítulo, apresentamos e analisamos os resultados das observações e das entrevistas, por meio das quais testamos nossas hipóteses. Por fim, fechamos com uma breve conclusão onde estão resumidas nossas contribuições e onde refletimos acerca das ampliações e limitações desta tese. / This thesis aims to draw a profile of university entrepreneurs today actives in business incubators and junior companies. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative research with engineering students (members of the POLI-Junior), and entrepreneurs engaged in technological innovation (incubated in CIETEC). After a brief introduction, in the first chapter, we try to conceptualize who are the entrepreneurs. Also, we display some data about the recent expansion in the creation of business incubators and junior companies in Brazil. In the second chapter, we made a review of the available literature from the contributions that the economy and the sociology of knowledge gave the theme. We prefer to frame the research problem in the field theory. In the third chapter, the topic of the thesis is situated in the historical framework of public policies for S&T and the trajectory of Brazilian research community. In the fourth chapter, we present the sample and the scope of research, the methods and techniques employed in the empirical research. We also launched hypothesis according to which entrepreneurship represent the new face of recent attempts to university reforms and closer relations between research and market. In the fifth chapter, we present and analyze the results of observations and interviews, through which we test our hypotheses. Finally, we close the work with a brief conclusion, where our contributions are summarized and where we reflect about the extensions and limitations of this thesis.

A linguagem técnica da academia e da gestão podem distanciar alguns grupos, como os empreendimentos populares. Sendo assim, é necessária a construção de novas estratégias de formação para capacitação, com aplicação de metodologias de educação e aprendizagem para esse público, com o qual a universidade pode não estar preparada e/ou acostumada a trabalhar. Nesse contexto, surgem as incubadoras como um ambiente flexível para o desenvolvimento e fortalecimento de novos empreendimentos. O presente trabalho objetivou identificar se os conhecimentos transmitidos nos programas de capacitação oferecidos pela Incubadora Tecnológica de Cooperativas Populares da Universidade do Vale do Itajaí - ITCP/UNIVALI - aos empreendimentos solidários são institucionalizados e aplicados em práticas de gestão. A análise contextualizou-se a partir dos conceitos e discussões sobre aprendizagem organizacional, aprendizagem na perspectiva da educação popular, incubadoras de empresas, incubadoras sociais, empreendimentos econômicos solidários e economia solidária. O estudo foi qualitativo, empregando o método exploratório-descritivo, o qual proporciona maior familiaridade com a situação organizacional pesquisada, porque explicita e descreve os eventos que a constituem e que podem responder as questões que originaram a pesquisa. A estratégia de pesquisa foi o estudo de caso e se utilizou a triangulação para coleta dos dados, através de pesquisa documental, observação participante e entrevistas semiestruturadas. O modo de análise e interpretação dos dados foi a codificação e interpretação, a partir do modelo conceitual de Miles et al (2014), através da condensação, exibição e verificação dos dados. Visando auxiliar na análise e codificação dos dados, o software de análise qualitativa ATLAS.ti permitiu organizar e analisar os documentos. Como contextualização teórica, foi utilizado como embasamento principal na análise o modelo dos 4is, de Crossan, Lane e White (1999), no qual a aprendizagem organizacional ocorre por quatro processos sociais e psicológicos inter-relacionados: intuição, interpretação, integração e institucionalização; e que se manifestam em três níveis: individual, grupal e organizacional. O presente estudo identificou quatro categorias de análise sobre os fatores que influenciam o processo de aprendizagem organizacional dos empreendimentos solidários participantes: Comprometimento, Comunicação, Instituições e Teoria x Prática. Os processos de aprendizagem foram identificados nos níveis individual e grupal, entretanto foram pouco nítidos no processo da aprendizagem organizacional, com fraca institucionalização na aplicação das práticas de gestão. Constatou-se que apenas os esforços do Programa de Capacitação da Incubadora como única referência para desencadear a aprendizagem organizacional são insuficientes e não chegam a promover o processo de institucionalização, pois raramente o conhecimento transmitido em cursos e oficinas é disseminado de forma clara e aplicável para o conjunto da organização, e não estimula o comprometimento dos associados com a execução das ações. / The technical language of academy and management can distance some groups, such as popular entrepreneurship. Therefore, it is necessary to accomplish new strategies of capacity formation, applying for education and learning methodologies for this audience, wherewith the university cannot be prepared and/or used to work. Incubators come up as a flexible environment for the development and strengthening of new business. This study verified that the knowledge transmitted in the training programs offered by the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives at the University of Vale do Itajaí - ITCP/UNIVALI - to solidarity entrepreneurship are institutionalized and applied in management practices. The analysis is contextualized from the concepts and discussions about organizational learning, at the perspective of popular education, businesses incubators, social incubators, solidary economic projects and solidarity economy. The study is qualitative, using the exploratory and descriptive method, which provides greater familiarity with the organizational situation studied, because explains and describes the events that constitute it and can answer questions that originated the research. The research strategy was the case study and used triangulation to data analysis, through document research, participant observation and interviews. The data analysis and interpretation were conducted accordingly to the conceptual model of Miles et al (2014), through data condensation, display and data verification. To assist in the analysis and data encoding, it was used the software of qualitative analysis ATLAS.ti. As a theoretical context, it was used as the primary basis in analyzing the model of 4IS Crossan, Lane and White (1999), in which the organizational learning occurs by four social and psychological processes interrelated: intuition, interpretation, integration and institutionalization; and are manifested in three levels: individual, group and organizational. This study identified four categories of analysis about the factors affecting process of organizational learning from the enterprises solidarity participant: Commitment, Communication, institutions and Theory x Practice. Learning processes were identified in the individual and group levels, but unclear in the process of organizational learning, with slight institutionalization in the application of management practices. It was found that only the efforts of the Incubator Training Program as a single reference to unleash organizational learning are inadequate and fail to promote the process of institutionalization, because the knowledge transmitted in the courses and workshops is rarely disseminated in a clear and enforceable way to the whole organization, and does not stimulate the commitment associated with the implementation of actions.

No contexto de universidade empreendedora, as incubadoras de empresas são um locus onde se acolhe empreendedores apoiando-os para que seus projetos tornem-se realidade através da constituição de pequenas empresas. Estar no ambiente de uma incubadora universitária de empresas significa estar próximo à universidade e tendo facilitado e estimulado o acesso e colaboração com a Academia. Se poderia questionar que efeitos o processo de incubação provoca na universidade que mantém uma incubadora de empresas e; por outro lado, que vantagens uma empresa nascente teria em estabelecer-se dentro de uma incubadora. Para subsidiar a análise dessas questões, o objetivo da presente pesquisa é analisar as interações universidade- empresa, em empresas incubadas e graduadas, que ocorrem no âmbito de uma incubadora universitária de empresas. Foi estudado o ambiente de incubação da Incubadora de Empresas de Base Tecnológica da UNISINOS, conhecida por UNITEC, através de coleta de dados via questionário submetido às empresas que estavam residentes na Incubadora no ano de 2009. Este estudo foi conduzido do ponto de vista da empresa que passa pelo processo de incubação, materializado na visão de seu empreendedor, sendo respondido por 15 empreendedores que representam 15 das empresas incubadas e graduadas residentes. Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar: as parcerias, a receita mensal regular das empresas incubadas, o baixo nível de endividamento, e a troca de informações técnicas com outras empresas, como efeitos do processo de incubação nas empresas. Também pemitiram identificar as palestras em sala de aula, as visitas de alunos nas empresas e a consultoria prestada por alunos, como principais efeitos na Universidade. Além disso, se pode identificar que as percepções dos executivos das empresas graduadas e incubadas, divergem na maioria das questões. / Considering the entrepreneurship university context, the business incubators are a kind of locus that holds entrepreneurs, helping them to make their projects come true via the establishment of small companies. Being inside university business incubator means to have easy access and stimulated collaboration with the University. It could be asked which effects the incubation process brings to a university that holds a business incubator and, on the other hand, which advantages could be reached by a startup company settled inside an incubator. In order to support the analysis of these kinds of questions, the objective of this research is to analyze the interactions university-industry that occurs in a university business incubator. This study considers the incubation environment at UNISINOS University (located in the southern Brazil), called UNITEC, throw data collected using a questionnaire that was submitted to companies that were resident at UNITEC incubation environment at the year 2009. This whole study considers the point of view of 15 companies that were passed through incubation process, including incubated companies and also graduated ones. From the obtained results, it´s possible to indentify: the partnerships among resident companies, the recurring monthly income of incubated companies, the low level of indebtedness of all companies and, the technical information exchange among the companies, as effects from the incubation process in the resident companies. It´s also to indentify that the lectures by entrepreneurs at university classes, the students visits at companies and, consultancy services by students, as the main effects of the incubation process at the University. Besides that, it´s possible to realize that entrepreneurs from the incubated and graduated companies diverge in most questions.

A presente tese tem por objetivo traçar um perfil dos empreendedores universitários atuantes em incubadoras de empresas e empresas juniores. Para tanto, realizamos uma pesquisa qualitativa junto a estudantes de engenharia, integrantes da POLI-Júnior, e empresários envolvidos em inovação tecnológica, incubados no CIETEC. Após uma breve apresentação, no primeiro capítulo, procuramos conceituar quem são os empreendedores. Exibiremos também, no primeiro capítulo, alguns dados acerca da recente expansão na criação de incubadoras de empresas e empresas juniores no Brasil. No segundo capítulo, fizemos uma revisão bibliográfica a partir das contribuições que a economia e a sociologia do conhecimento deram ao tema. Preferimos enquadrar o problema de pesquisa no bojo da teoria dos campos. No terceiro capítulo, o tema da tese é situado no quadro histórico das políticas públicas para C&T e da trajetória da comunidade de pesquisa brasileira. No quarto capítulo, apresentamos a amostra e o âmbito de pesquisa, os métodos e técnicas empregados no trabalho de campo. Lançamos ainda hipóteses conforme as quais o empreendedorismo representaria a nova face das recentes tentativas de reforma universitária e estreitamento das relações entre pesquisa e mercado. No quinto capítulo, apresentamos e analisamos os resultados das observações e das entrevistas, por meio das quais testamos nossas hipóteses. Por fim, fechamos com uma breve conclusão onde estão resumidas nossas contribuições e onde refletimos acerca das ampliações e limitações desta tese. / This thesis aims to draw a profile of university entrepreneurs today actives in business incubators and junior companies. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative research with engineering students (members of the POLI-Junior), and entrepreneurs engaged in technological innovation (incubated in CIETEC). After a brief introduction, in the first chapter, we try to conceptualize who are the entrepreneurs. Also, we display some data about the recent expansion in the creation of business incubators and junior companies in Brazil. In the second chapter, we made a review of the available literature from the contributions that the economy and the sociology of knowledge gave the theme. We prefer to frame the research problem in the field theory. In the third chapter, the topic of the thesis is situated in the historical framework of public policies for S&T and the trajectory of Brazilian research community. In the fourth chapter, we present the sample and the scope of research, the methods and techniques employed in the empirical research. We also launched hypothesis according to which entrepreneurship represent the new face of recent attempts to university reforms and closer relations between research and market. In the fifth chapter, we present and analyze the results of observations and interviews, through which we test our hypotheses. Finally, we close the work with a brief conclusion, where our contributions are summarized and where we reflect about the extensions and limitations of this thesis.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Margarete Dias de Brito.pdf: 789381 bytes, checksum: 44e5ccc305a65ddeb7bb038392c77ed6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-20 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / In this research we examine the projects developed by sustainable business entrepreneurs in the university incubators. It was intended to analyze business incubators university in order to understand how this new generation of entrepreneurs run their business projects incorporating sustainability demands. Furthermore, it was also intended discuss the role of the university incubator in environmental training the next generation of entrepreneurs. Several higher education institutions have tried to promote sustainable education; many reformed their curricula, including courses that encourage environmental education and environmental projects. The business incubators are included in this university environment and should incorporate in its purpose of performance targets and actions that favor the formation of sustainable enterprises, socially and environmentally. The advance of the sustainability issue in the business world has caught the attention of various stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, and this has led to develop business plans through business incubators, considering the socially and environmentally sustainable management. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study in four university incubators - two public and two private. The survey was conducted with thirteen entrepreneurs whose companies incorporate environmental actions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed by the method of qualitative data analysis proposed by Gibbs (2009). The results demonstrate that sustainability is in the speeches of entrepreneurs refers to the notion of value mentioned by respondents in association with the idea of ethics, honesty and an assumption of corporate accountability for the actions they contain. Another design that crossed the narratives of entrepreneurs was the idea that sustainability it comes to an ideal of conduct that part of the logic of non-aggression to the environment and sustainable mitigation actions, in particular the environmentally correct. We conclude that entrepreneurs have guided their businesses considering sustainability issues because their products and services minimizing environmental impacts. Another important finding is that the issue of environmental sustainability is far from being a concern of the coordinators of the four surveyed incubators and even seems to be the object of unrest or any action to be taken in the short or medium term. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o sentido de desenvolver projetos empresariais sustentáveis para empreendedores vinculados a incubadoras universitárias. Pretendeu-se analisar as incubadoras de empresas universitárias, no intuito de compreender como esta nova geração de empreendedores executam seus projetos empresariais incorporando demandas de sustentabilidade. Além disso, pretendeu-se também discutir o papel da incubadora universitária na formação socioambiental da nova geração de empreendedores. Diversas instituições de ensino superior têm tentado promover uma educação sustentável, muitas reformularam seus currículos, incluindo disciplinas voltadas à educação ambiental e incentivando projetos ambientais. As incubadoras de empresas universitárias estão inseridas neste ambiente e devem incorporar em seus propósitos de atuação metas e ações que favoreçam a formação de empresas sustentáveis, social e ambientalmente. O avanço do tema sustentabilidade no universo empresarial tem chamado a atenção de diversos públicos, dentre eles os empreendedores, e tem levado este público a desenvolver planos de negócios por meio das incubadoras de empresas, considerando a gestão socioambientalmente sustentável. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo qualitativo interpretativo básico em quatro incubadoras universitárias duas públicas e duas privadas. A pesquisa foi realizada com treze empreendedores cujas empresas incorporam ações socioambientais. Os dados, coletados por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, foram analisados segundo o processo de analise de dados qualitativos proposto por Gibbs (2009). Os resultados demonstram que sustentabilidade se remete nas falas dos empreendedores à noção de valor, mencionada pelos entrevistados em associação com a ideia de ética, honestidade e de um pressuposto de responsabilização das empresas pelos atos que encerram. Outra concepção que atravessou as narrativas dos empreendedores foi à ideia de que sustentabilidade se trata de um ideal de conduta que parte de uma lógica de não agressão ao ambiente e mitigação de ações sustentáveis, em especial, as ambientalmente corretas. Conclui-se que os empreendedores guiaram seus negócios considerando, de alguma forma, questões de sustentabilidade, mas isso porque seus produtos e serviços acabam minimizando impactos ambientais. Outra constatação importante é que a questão da sustentabilidade socioambiental está longe de ser uma preocupação dos coordenadores das quatro incubadoras pesquisadas e sequer parece ser objeto de inquietação ou de alguma medida a ser tomada a curto ou médio prazo.

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilka hinder och motsättningar som rådgivare och forskare upplever i forskningskommersialiseringsprocessen inom högskolenära inkubatorer. Studien bör ses som en förstudie för att i ett senare skede kunna skapa en effektiv innovationsprocessmodell för högskolenära inkubatorer. Uppsatsens frågeställningar har undersökts ur ett innovationstekniskt perspektiv med hjälp av teorier om bland annat inkubatorer, innovationsprocesser och akademiskt entreprenörskap. Resultatet visar att det finns ett antal kulturkrockar som medför risk för att rådgivare och forskare talar förbi varandra. Andra hinder och motsättningar i forskningskommersialiseringsprocessen är skillnader i språkbruk, forskarens multipla roller, uppfattningar om arbetstempo samt att matchningen mellan entreprenör och forskare är svårorganiserad och tidskrävande. / This essay seeks to examine which obstacles and oppositions business coaches and researchersexperience in the research commercialization process in university business incubators. This studyshould be seen as a pre-study with the intention of contributing to later on building a newinnovation process model for university business incubators. Essay questions have been examinedfrom the perspective of innovation technology and are linked to theories about incubators,innovation processes and academic entrepreneurship. The result is that there is a number of culturalclashes that brings along a risk for misunderstandings between business coaches and researchers.Other obstacles and oppositions in the research commercialization process is differences inlinguistic use, the multiple roles of the researcher, interpretation of working pace and also that thematching between researcher and entrepreneur is time-consuming and hard to organize.

In order to determine the effects of social capital in innovative contexts, Nahapiet and Ghoshal&rsquo / s (1998) three dimensions of social capital (structural, relational and cognitive) were investigated in a business incubator located in a university science park. This thesis tries to answer five questions for the incubator context: (1) What are the antecedents of the three dimensions of social capital? (2) What are the benefits of social capital for the tenant firms? (3) How are the dimensions of social capital related to the antecedents and benefits? (4) What are the effects of being located in a university on social capital development between the firms and the host university? and (5) What is the role of the incubator management/specialists on social capital creation? The research questions were investigated in two layers: (1) Social capital development among tenant firms, and (2) Social capital development between the tenant firms and the host university. The research was designed with a multi-method approach along four steps. In the first step, the selected incubator was observed for a day. In the second stage, a pilot interview was conducted with one of the tenant firms. Next the firms were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their demographic characteristics. In the last stage, a theoretical sample of nine selected firms&rsquo / owners were interviewed. All the collected data were analyzed following the grounded theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) and seven propositions were developed to be investigated in further research.

Starting the own business is sometimes a dream sometimes a nightmare but undoubtedly from a macro-economic perspective it is considered to be a promising concept to secure long-term economic growth and society’s welfare, at least in Germany. Strong efforts were made to support start ups and potential entrepreneurs to run their own business. A plethora of programs were launched which were supposed to facilitate the start up process – but reality is disenchanting: The published data in the 2004 GEM indicate that the idea of an entrepreneurial society in Germany is still far beyond its realization. Germany ranks 17th out of 31 GEM states in terms of “nascent entrepreneurs” and only 22nd regarding the “young entrepreneurs”. Compared to other GEM countries the German adults are considered to be more pessimistic in terms of entrepreneurial issues: The chances of establishing a successful business are evaluated lower than the years before. On the other hand the context factors which are considered to influence the start up opportunities especially in terms of governmental support and physical infrastructure were evaluated to be one of the best. Especially concerning the latter aspect strong efforts have been made to support entrepreneurs. In this context, and maybe because of - A “… post-1970s fascination with ‘high-tech’ regions worldwide” (Cooke/Leydesdorff 2006: 9), - A continuous liberalization of the world market and its impact on national production systems (which is well discussed in the context of the conversion of cooperatives), or - The dawn of the concept of national innovations systems (e.g. Lundvall 1988; Cozzens et al. 1990), For more than two decades, one promising concept of sustaining entrepreneurs was seen in the idea of incubators1 which mainly offer support in terms of infrastructure and funding opportunities. Meantime, we observe that questions emerge of how effective and efficient incubators work as one major instrument of macroentrepreneurial (Van de Veen 1995, Chiles/Meyer 2001) activities in order to facilitate start ups and to support the first steps of a new business from its start to its growth. The value of the incubator model as an effective means of technology and knowledge transfer especially from universities is continually discussed and questioned (Cunningham 1999). For example, a study run by Allen and Kahman (1985) concluded that incubators are tools for developing enterprises which create a positive environment for small businesses to succeed. Indeed, lots of studies brought up that incubators are an efficient and effective way to sustain spin-out processes and to contribute to regional development and prosperity. However, on the other hand some shortcomings are obvious: Finer and Holberton (2000) take into question the incubator model because it takes the initiative away from the start-up team. The paper refers to these observations. We assume by means of some international empirical studies that the functions of incubators are enhanced as a result of a (evolutional) learning process. On this basis we derive hypothesis about the dealing with the upcoming challenges and provide further research questions in an explorative way. Paragraph 2 introduces a three phased model of business incubators and classifies existing incubators. It will be obvious, that there is an increasing amount of functions that are allocated by incubators. Within paragraph 3 we examine recent developments from a macroeconomic perspective and contrast to this the evolution of incubators. Paragraph 4 presents two types of incubators that take these 1 In the context of this paper we primarly refer to non-profit incubators. contradictions into account and offers an alternative coping. Summarizing, we give an outlook on further research questions which will substantiate the evolutionary perspective on incubators.

abstract: With various gaps remaining in business incubation literature, developing scales that capture the multi-dimensional constructs of the incubation process remains a necessity. While living and traveling within Brazil, this author journeyed within Brazil's well-developed incubation ecosystem in order to investigate the reproducibility and validity of scales whose authors propose measure the constructs that capture the process of business incubation which were defined in their options-driven theory of business incubation as "selection performance", "monitoring and business assistance intensity", and "resource munificence". Regression analysis resulted in the data suggesting that there is no statistically significant predictive ability of the Hackett and Dilts scales when used to predict incubatee outcomes from this study's sample of incubators. The results of the analysis between total score in each of the three constructs and incubatee outcomes suggested that when the total score within the construct of selection performance increases, there tends to be a decrease in incubatee outcomes where the incubatee was surviving and growing profitably at the time of its exit from the incubator. Also, there tends to be a decrease in incubatee outcomes where the incubatee was surviving and growing on a path toward profitability at the time of the incubator exit. The results show no predictive ability of the remaining two constructs of "monitoring and business assistance intensity" and "resource munificence" to capture business incubation performance. The item specific analysis of all correlating and inter-correlating variables for each of the dependent variables, resulting in several significant relationships, however, many demonstrate negative relationships which also run contrary to the relationships proposed by Hackett and Dilts. These results have challenged both the validity of the Hackett and Dilts scale as a tool for investigating the constructs of the incubation process, and the ability of the options-driven theory to explain and predict business incubation outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2012