Where do business incubators come from? The origins, evolution, and institutionalization of business incubators: Evaluating performance and assessing *outcom

The genesis, development, and proliferation of business incubators---a recent occurrence---has been acknowledged and documented in several theoretical and empirical accounts. However, to date, no comprehensive or systematic study has investigated the origins, evolution, and institutionalization of business incubators, as a collectivity, with the objective of ascertaining their rationale and social and economic logic. In addition, research has failed to link the development of business incubators to their aggregate performance and outcome. These theoretical and empirical shortcomings, among others, were the driving motivation for this dissertation. First, the study investigated the origins of business incubators by tracing the conditions under which they were created and implemented. Second, the research examined the evolution of a nascent business incubation industry by identifying the emergence of multiple and diverse models or types of business incubators. Variations within and across types or models were analyzed under the dimensions of organizational mission, principles, and developmental goals and objectives with the view of exploring how typological variations influenced the strategies and structures of business incubators. Third, the dissertation examined the institutionalization of business incubators by analyzing the roles and contributions of diverse institutions in the implementation and reproduction of business incubators as well as the specific approaches that were used to institutionalize business incubators into the organizational community. Fourth, the research analyzed the aggregate performance of business incubators by examining the criteria---methods, indicators, and measures adopted by stakeholders to evaluate their effectiveness. Finally, the dissertation investigated the aggregate sociological outcome of business incubators with emphasis on theoretical and practical implications for policy and managerial decision-making.