Business Incubators and Survival of Startups in Times of COVID-19

Débora De Esteban Escobar,Francisco José Blanco Jiménez,José Luis Montes-Botella,Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero,Antón García

doi:10.3390/su14042139

Débora De Esteban Escobar, Francisco José Blanco Jiménez + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042139

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Abstract

This research seeks to understand the situation that entrepreneurs have experienced during COVID-19 and the impact that this has caused on the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The question is whether business incubators as facilitating institutions of entrepreneurship have been determinants for the survival of startups. The study was conducted using a statistical methodology of analysis based on the application of structural equations modeling (SEM) on a theoretical framework built and validated empirically in a representative sample of entrepreneurs from the Community of Madrid (Spain). The results obtained show that the different tools, actions, advice, and services offered by the business incubators, during confinement to the present, have been key to the survival of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which in turn promotes the advancement of the productive industry of our country.

Highlights

In December 2019, the alarm rose over an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan (China)
The analysis shows the behavior of companies following the impact caused by the health crisis caused by COVID-19, using variables that apply qualitative measures, based on the business promoter or manager’s own perception of a number of statements and, capturing the continuing impact of the health crisis on the actions of entrepreneurs
Of the total of entrepreneurial businesses surveyed for this study, only 34% are startups whose promoter team is composed of women

Summary

Introduction

In December 2019, the alarm rose over an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan (China). It was not until January 2020 that the Chinese authorities identified the cause of the outbreak as a new type of virus of the family Coronavirus. The rest of the world would be affected, with catastrophic consequences [1]. In March 2020, the World Health Organization [2] raised the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 to an international pandemic and, in Spain, the state of global alarm was staggering [3].

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