Business Incubator Managers’ Perceptions of their Role and Performance Success: Role Demands, Constraints, and Choices

Using Stewart's (1976a, 1976b) role framework as an analytical lens, this paper examines how business incubator managers perceive their role and performance, and the choices they make in dealing with constraints and competing demands. Given that the literature in this domain has not considered...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European management review 2020-06, Vol.17 (2), p.485-498
Main Authors: Kakabadse, Nada, Karatas‐Ozkan, Mine, Theodorakopoulos, Nicholas, McGowan, Carmel, Nicolopoulou, Katerina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agency and structure
Autonomy
Bureaucracy
Business incubators
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Human
leadership
Organization
Organizational
Resources, Organization
Strategy
Structures
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Summary:Using Stewart's (1976a, 1976b) role framework as an analytical lens, this paper examines how business incubator managers perceive their role and performance, and the choices they make in dealing with constraints and competing demands. Given that the literature in this domain has not considered how these types of managers experience agency and structure in their role, this study is important in theory and practice terms. Drawing on 40 qualitative interviews in different UK regions, the findings demonstrate the ways in which business incubator managers see their role as pivotal in supporting the incubatee entrepreneurs and how they endeavour to address competing role demands against constraints. Notably, while funding is commonly viewed as an enabler, the findings suggest that the funding structure could act as a constraint on the incubator managers, due to the weight of perceived bureaucracy preventing the latter from operating effectively within the full remit of their role.
ISSN:1740-4754
1740-4762
DOI:10.1111/emre.12379