Exchange of knowledge in protected environments. The case of university business incubators

Abstract

University business incubators (UBIs) are born as tools of the academic world to market research results, for the transfer of technology and to promote entrepreneurial spirit. In these contexts, the exchange of knowledge among entrepreneurs can be a key variable for the development and success of their businesses. This paper aims to analyse the characteristics of entrepreneurs' resources and the institutional logic that prevails in the incubator as determinants of the exchange of knowledge, and the authors examine the results in terms of entrepreneurial commitment and the generation of innovations. The empirical study carried out on a sample of 101 entrepreneurs in UBIs in Spain and The Netherlands. The results reveals how complementarity, supplementarity and transferability of resources, as well as incubator predisposition towards business are fundamental for the exchange of knowledge, the development of entrepreneurial spirit and the generation of innovation. This study makes a contribution towards an understanding of how relationships between university entrepreneurs provide access to and help create useful knowledge for the parties, with this resource constituting one possible source of sustainable competitive advantage.