A Synopsis of Incubators in Non-hub Cities in the Southeast United States

Eleonora Brivio, Erica Negro Cousa, Vahé Heboyan, Francesco Beltrame and Gianluca De Leo

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, 2020, vol. 29, issue 2, 428-444

Abstract: Business incubators are organisations that support the growth of small companies, including start-ups, by providing various resources and services. The aims of this article were to assess the characteristics of business incubators in non-hub cities located in Georgia and South Carolina and to describe the major differences between incubators located in non-hub and hub cities. We surveyed 5 non-hub incubators and visited and analysed qualitatively 10 incubators, 5 in hub cities and 5 in non-hub cities. Results showed that incubators in non-hub cities have less focus and less access to funding capital compared with incubators in hub cities. The implementation of a mesh network among incubators in non-hub cities may help sharing resources, know-how, talents and investments with the goal of being able to compete with incubators in hub cities. While currently incubators in non-hub cities cannot offer the same services to their members, they can still play an important role in giving the people in their communities an opportunity to start a new business, find jobs and increase their income. Business incubators in non-hub cities can ultimately positively impact the overall quality of life of the population they serve. Finally, we proposed that a focus on public health innovation may help incubators in non-hub cities to be successful.

Keywords: Small businesses; incubators; non-hub cities; mesh network; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jouent:v:29:y:2020:i:2:p:428-444

DOI: 10.1177/0971355720930574

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