The Role of Incubators in University-Based Entrepreneurial Ecosystems through Knowledge Spillovers

Résumé En

While academic entrepreneurship literature supports the view that universities are essential engines of economic development, especially in knowledge-based societies, there is still a need for a historical view of the challenges and transformations faced by universities in terms of knowledge spillover out of the university. This chapter emphasizes that there is a blind spot in assuming knowledge will naturally spread, referred to as the knowledge filter. In response to this gap, universities act as catalysts in building entrepreneurial societies by helping students to create successful new ventures, providing skilled labour to existing firms, and diffusing a supportive entrepreneurial culture. This phenomenon has been conceptualized in previous literature as a university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem. The latter describes the role of the university and its internal and external impacts on the entrepreneurial society. Several knowledge-transfer mechanisms have been created to effectively link educational and support programmes to enhance entrepreneurial activity. Within this ecosystem, knowledge-transfer mechanisms such as university incubators have a vital role for commercializing knowledge through innovation activity. This chapter offers a comprehensive understanding of the effective role of university incubators within the university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem and how they contribute to the entrepreneurial society through knowledge spillover. The chapter’s insights support the view that incubators act as intermediaries in connecting the university and the entrepreneurial society. Thus, well-embedded incubators in both contexts benefit from human capital facilitating the transformation of the knowledge base into economic growth. This chapter provides insights for both ecosystem actors and university leaders who wish to build sustainable and efficient university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems.