Building the First Business Relationships: Incubatees in University Business Incubators (UBIs)

Abstract

University Business Incubators (UBIs) are ideal spaces for supporting and developing novice entrepreneurs and their businesses. In the current study, we explore whether such incubators can also be considered an ideal space for building dyadic relationships between incubatees based on trust and knowledge exchange, and whether this can encourage commitment in the relationship. To this end, we propose that the perception of shared values from the academic world may foster such trust. Furthermore, perceiving there may be supplementary and complementary resources encourages the exchange of knowledge, the specific resource on which UBI businesses are based. At the same time, empathy between academic incubatees leads to relational commitment being reinforced.