Assessing and managing the university technology business incubator: An integrative framework

This article provides a conceptual framework for assessing and managing the university technology business incubator (UTBI) as a tool for new venture creation. It is widely believed that UTBIs contribute to the nurturing of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). However, they have escaped systematic review in the United States due to a lack of historical data. To fill this gap, a new UTBI performance assessment framework is proposed, which is drawn from a combined survey of the existing body of knowledge in the areas of business incubation, the university's involvement in technology and business development support, and the commonly accepted approaches to organizational assessment that provide the necessary building blocks for the integrative framework. The proposed model is comprised of three performance dimensions: (1) program sustainability and growth; (2) tenant firm's survival and growth; and (3) contributions to the sponsoring university's mission. Further, the scope and effectiveness of the facility management policies, and the provision of services are assessed. The application of this framework is illustrated using four representative UTBI cases selected from a field of 30 five-year or older U.S.-based facilities and their 29 tenant firms out of the 84 firms contacted for the survey (35%). A comparative review of these four cases reveals that the framework provides a flexible methodology to assess the performance of UTBIs. The article concludes with a set of elements identified for evaluating UTBIs under the aforementioned three performance dimensions providing measurement indicators. This framework seeks to provide conceptual clarity for those responsible for assessing UTBI performance, directing their operations, or endeavoring to create them.