Incubators' coopetition strategy in the start-up incubation ecosystem

Abstract

In the Start-up Incubation Ecosystem, various strategies reinforced by public policies appear to foster the development of high potential firms and territorial economic growth. This chapter focuses on understanding incubators' coopetition strategy with other ecosystem actors during the incubation process. Two emerging and popular concepts, rarely used simultaneously in the literature, are mobilized: coopetition and Start-up Incubation Ecosystem. An explorative qualitative study was conducted based on 39 semi-structured interviews with key actors of the Start-up Incubation Ecosystem in the South of France to reveal how coopetition strategies evolve during the incubation process. The chapter results in illustrative quotes that lead to three proposals regarding the link between coopetition relationships (competition-dominated; equal; cooperation-dominated) and the incubation process (selection; resources; network). The findings contribute in demonstrating the relevance of coopetition strategies in SUPIEs and better understanding the new measures used to reinforce territorial economic growth.