The roles of incubator organizations in hi-tech venture creation in Korea

In order to examine the roles of incubator organizations (places where entrepreneurs work before they start their ventures), ten high-tech venture founders were interviewed. Based on these interviews, their experience at incubator organizations and subsequent performance were analyzed, and 11 hypotheses regarding the characteristics of incubator organizations were formulated. The hypotheses are: high-tech ventures are more likely to succeed if their founders have had the opportunity to prepare a business plan, to develop the prototype of a new product, to be acquainted with other disciplines, to work together as a team, and to acquire various kinds of capabilities such as market-specific know-how, entrepreneurial skills and financing know-how at incubator organizations. However, it is hypothesized that the opportunity to acquire technological know-how and 'traditional' managerial skills at incubator organizations are not positively correlated with venture success.