Realising potential: The impact of business incubation on the absorptive capacity of new technology-based firms

International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship

Volumn 32, Issue 8, 2014, Pages 897-917

  Patton, Dean ^a  

^a BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

absorptive capacity; business support; incubation; managerial knowledge; new technology firms

Indexed keywords

EID: 84911420342     PISSN: 02662426     EISSN: 17412870     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0266242613482134     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Aernoudt R.Incubators: tool for entrepreneurship?.Small Business Economics. 2004;23 (2): 127-135
2. Albert P,Gaynor L.National contexts, incubator families and trends in incubation: views from four countries.Paper presented at the 48th ICSB Conference Proceedings; 2003Belfast; 2003.
3. Ardichvili A,Cardozo R,Ray S.A theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development.Journal of Business Venturing. 2003;18 (1): 105-123
4. Arnold E,Allinson R,Muscio A, et alMaking Best Use of Technological Knowledge: A Study of Absorptive Capacity of Irish SMEs. Brighton: Technopolis; 2004:
5. Autio E,Klofsten M.A comparative study of two European business incubators.Journal of Small Business Management. 1998;36 (1): 30-43
6. Barkema HG,Vermeulen F.International expansion through start-up or acquisition: A learning perspective.Academy of Management Journal. 1998;41 (1): 7-26
7. Bruneel J,Ratinho T,Clarysse B.The evolution of business incubators: Comparing demand and supply of business incubation services across different incubator generations.Technovation. 2012;32 (2): 110-121
8. Chen YS,Lin MJJ,Chang CH.The positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on innovation performance and competitive advantage in industrial markets.Industrial Marketing Management. 2009;38 (2): 152-158
9. Child JOrganization: A Guide to Problems and Practice. (1984) Organization: A Guide to Problems and Practice (2nd edn). London: Harper and Row.London: Harper and Row; 1984:
10. Cohen WM,Levinthal DA.Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation.Administrative Science Quarterly. 1990;35 (1): 128-152
11. Cope J,Watts G.Learning by doing: An exploration of experience, critical incidents and reflection in entrepreneurial learning.International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research. 2000;6 (3): 104-124
12. Millbrook Technology Campus in Southampton: An incubator full of surprises. 2010;:B6
13. Dalley J,Hamilton RT.Knowledge, context and learning in small business.International Small Business Journal. 2000;18 (3): 51-59
14. Davenport TH,De Long DW,Beers MC.Successful knowledge management projects.Sloan Management Review. 1998;39 (2): 43-57
15. Dyer JH,Singh H.The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage.Academy of Management Review. 1998;23 (4): 660-679
16. Easterby-Smith M,Graça M,Antonacopoulou E, et al.Absorptive capacity: A process perspective.Management Learning. 2008;39 (5): 483-501
17. Eisenhardt MK.Building theories from case study research.Academy of Management Review. 1989;14 (4): 532-550
18. Ferguson R,Olofsson C.Science parks and the development of NTBFs: Location, survival and growth.Journal of Technology Transfer. 2004;29 (1): 5-17
19. Innovators hitch a ride on drive for national security. 2008;:17
20. Garrett-Jones S,Turpin T,Burns P, et al.Common purpose and divided loyalties: The risks and rewards of cross-sector collaboration for academic and government researchers.R&D Management. 2005;35 (5): 535-544
21. Gibb AA.Small firms’ training and competitiveness: Building on the small business as a learning organisation.International Small Business Journal. 1997;15 (3): 13-29
22. Goffee R,Scase RCorporate Realities: The Dynamics of Large and Small Organisations. London: Routledge; 1995:
23. Gupta AK,Govindarajan V.Knowledge flows within the multinational corporation.Strategic Management Journal. 2000;21 (4): 473-496
24. Hacket SM,Dilts DM.A systematic review of business incubation research.Journal of Technology Transfer. 2004;29 (1): 55-82
25. Hite JM,Hesterly WS.The evolution of firm networks: From emergence to early growth of the firm.Strategic Management Journal. 2001;22 (3): 275-286
26. Hjorth D,Jones C,Gartner WB.Recreating/recontextualising entrepreneurship.Scandinavian Journal of Management. 2008;21 (2): 81-84
27. Holmqvist M.A dynamic model of intra- and interorganizational learning.Organization Studies. 2003;24 (1): 95-123
28. Hughes M,Hughes P,Morgan RE.Exploitative learning and entrepreneurial orientation alignment in emerging young firms: Implications for market and response performance.British Journal of Management. 2007;18 (4): 359-375
29. Johns G.The essential impact of context on organizational behavior.Academy of Management Review. 2006;31 (2): 396-408
30. Jones O,Craven M.Expanding capabilities in a mature manufacturing firm: Absorptive capacity and the TCS.International Small Business Journal. 2001;19 (3): 355-377
31. Kim L.Crisis construction and organizational learning: Capability building in catching-up at Hyundai Motor.Organization Science. 1998;9 (4): 506-521
32. Lahti T.The value-added contribution of advisers in the process of acquiring venture capital.International Small Business Journal. 2014;32 (3): 307-326
33. Lane PJ,Lubatkin M.Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning.Strategic Management Journal. 1998;19 (5): 461-477
34. Lane P,Koka B,Pathak S.The reification of absorptive capacity: A critical review and rejuvenation of the construct.Academy of Management Review. 2006;31 (4): 833-863
35. Lee SS,Osteryoung SJ.A comparison of critical success factors for effective operations of university business incubators in the United States and Korea.Journal of Small Business Management. 2004;42 (4): 418-426
36. Lenox M,King A.Prospects for developing absorptive capacity through internal information provision.Strategic Management Journal. 2004;25 (4): 331-345
37. Library House (2007) Spinning out quality: University spin-out companies in the UK, March. Available at: www.scribd.com/doc/34051008/Library-House-2007-An-Analysis-of-UK-University-Technology-and-Knowledge-Transfer-Activities (accessed 5 March 2013).
38. McAdam M,Marlow S.Building futures or stealing secrets? Entrepreneurial cooperation and conflict within business incubators.International Journal of Small Business. 2007;25 (4): 359-377
39. McAdam M,Marlow S.Sense and sensibility: The role of business incubator client advisers in assisting high technology entrepreneurs to make sense of investment readiness status.Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. 2011;23 (7-8): 449-468
40. March JG.Exploration and exploitation in organisational learning.Organization Science. 1991;2 (1): 71-87
41. March JGThe Pursuit of Organizational Intelligence. Oxford: Blackwell; 1999:
42. Mian SA.Assessing value-added contributions of university technology business incubators to tenant firms.Research Policy. 1996;25 (3): 325-335
43. Mosey S,Wright M.From human capital to social capital: A longitudinal study of technology-based academic entrepreneurs.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2007;31 (6): 909-935
44. Total Innovation. London: NESTA; 2008:
45. Oakey R.Technical entreprenenurship in high technology small firms: Some observations on the implications for management.Technovation. 2003;23 (8): 679-688
46. Penrose EThe Theory of the Growth of the Firm. New York: Wiley; 1959:
47. Pettigrew A.What is processual analysis?.Scandanvian Journal of Managemen. 1997;13 (4): 337-348
48. Rice MP,Mathews JGrowing New Ventures, Creating New Jobs: Principles and Practices of Successful Business Incubation. Westport, CT: Quorum Books; 1995:
49. Rice MP.Co-production of business assistance in business incubators: An exploratory study.Journal of Business Venturing. 2002;17 (2): 163-187
50. Robson CReal World Research. (2002) Real World Research (2nd edn). Oxford: Blackwell.Oxford: Blackwell; 2002:
51. Rothaermel FT,Thursby M.University–incubator firm knowledge flows: Assessing their impact on incubator firm performance.Research Policy. 2005;34 (3): 305-320
52. Scillitoe JL,Chakrabarti AK.The role of incubator interactions in assisting new ventures.Technovation. 2010;30 (3): 155-167
53. Shane S,Venkataraman S.The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research.Academy of Management Review. 2000;25 (1): 217-226
54. Shane S,Khurana R.Bringing individuals back in: The effects of career experience on new firm founding.Industrial and Corporate Change. 2003;12 (3): 519-543
55. Shepherd DA,Douglas EJ,Shanley M.New venture survival: Ignorance, external shocks, and risk reduction strategies.Journal of Business Venturing. 2000;15 (5–6): 393-410
56. Simonin BL.Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances.Strategic Management Journal. 1999;20 (7): 595-623
57. Smilor RW.Commercializing technology through new business incubators.Research Management. 1987;30 (5): 36-41
58. Stinchcombe AHandbook of Organizations. March J, ed. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally; 1965:142-193.
59. Storey D,Greene FSmall Business and Entrepreneurship. Harlow: Pearson Education; 2010:
60. Strauss A,Corbin JBasics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1990:
61. Studdard NL.The effectiveness of entrepreneurial firms’ knowledge acquisition from a business incubator.International Entrepreneurship Management Journal. 2006;2 (2): 211-225
62. Sun P,Anderson M.An examination of the relationship between absorptive capacity and organisational learning.International Journal of Management Review. 2010;12 (2): 130-150
63. Theyel N.Extending open innovation throughout the value chain by small and medium-sized manufacturers.International Small Business Journal. 2013;31 (3): 256-274
64. Todorova G,Durisin B.Absorptive capacity: Valuing a reconceptualisation.Academy of Management Review. 2007;32 (3): 774-786
65. Tsai W.Knowledge transfer in intraorganizational networks: Effects of network position and absorptive capacity on business unit innovation and performance.Academy of Management Journal. 2001;44 (5): 996-1004
66. Volberda HW,Foss NJ,Lyles MA.Absorbing the concept of absorptive capacity: How to realize its potential in the organization field.Organization Science. 2010;21 (4): 931-951
67. Voss C.Case research in operations management.International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 2002;22 (2): 195-219
68. Wynarczyk P,Piperopoulos P,McAdam M.Open innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises: An overview.International Small Business Journal. 2013;31 (3): 240-255
69. Yin RKCase Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1994:
70. Zahra SA,George G.Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualisation, and extension.Academy of Management Review. 2002;27 (2): 185-203
71. Zahra SA,Hayton JC.The effect of international venturing on firm performance: The moderating influence of ACAP.Journal of Business Venturing. 2008;23 (2): 195-220
72. Zhang M,MacPherson A,Jones O.Conceptualising the learning process.International Small Business Journal. 2006;24 (3): 299-323