A triadic actor view of value co-creation in business incubation

Abstract

In this paper we view an incubator as a service entity that may take different forms. We contribute to the literature by exploring the utility of the service-dominant logic (SDL) paradigm (Vargo & Lusch, 2016) to better understand incubation operations. Value cocreation is a central axiom of SDL, as is engagement with a supporting service ecosystem. Whilst some studies have considered dyadic incubator-client value creation arrangements, we extend this to include interaction with other service ecosystem stakeholders that we characterise as investors. This way a triadic interaction model is presented. We consider four different cases of a service entity supporting start-up development from this actor-oriented perspective. Adopting a client company perspective, we draw a parallel between various kinds of incubation services and department stores, where clients may access what they need when they need it from a variety of offerings, and obtain the assistance they require.