Is the impact of incubator’s ability on incubation performance contingent on technologies and life cycle stages of startups? evidence from Japan

Supporting entrepreneurship has become an important policy target in Japan since 1990s and many incubators have been established as a part of regional innovation policy. Incubation strategy conducive to the improvement in incubation performance can be contingent on external factors, which makes it necessary to incorporate moderators, such as technology and growth phase, into the evaluation of incubators. This study examines how incubator’s ability affects incubation performance under different environments. Estimation results of a technology transfer function reveal that human resources (diversity of incubation managers’ professional experiences), physical resources (geographical proximity to universities), and organizational resources (alliance with universities) have different impacts on the creation and growth of startups according to technological fields (e.g., electronics and biotechnology) and life cycle stages (i.e., the nascent and early growth stage) of startups. Furthermore, the impact of selection strategy on incubation performance also varies according to technological fields and life cycle stages of startups. Policy implications of the key findings are discussed.