A study of management tasks and stakeholders in a hybrid corporate incubator

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the main tasks and challenges of the manager role in a hybrid incubator organization, here defined as being one owned by both private companies and public organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a stakeholder management approach to focus on tasks related to multiple relationships. It employs an interview‐based case method. Semi‐structured qualitative interviews and documents were used to collect data. Interviews with external stakeholders provided additional information about management tasks and how they appear in the incubation context. The role of the incubator and the manager is described through the stories of three different technology ventures, which the incubator worked with at the time of the study.FindingsThe tasks and challenges of the incubator manager concentrated around helping incubated companies gain access to much‐needed knowledge. Different modes of knowledge were added to the start‐up companies from the incubator's staff and manager and the owner companies. In order to manage knowledge flows effectively, organisational knowledge mode was highly valuable to the incubator manager. The hybrid corporate incubator's assignment is more diverse and less associated with the parent companies' core strategies than what is typical for a corporate incubator's assignment. Production of shareholder value did not have the highest priority. Other stakeholder groups than the shareholders reaped most of the benefit from the incubator's work.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses practical challenges tied to the work of incubator managers such as the need to be able to maintain relationships, align diverging interests and manage expectations from different stakeholders.Originality/valueNo previous studies have examined corporate incubator management through a single‐case study. A corporate incubator's different stakeholders have not often been examined.