Stakeholder goal achievement in Australian Business Incubators', paper presented to AGSE

ii Australian state and federal governments have funded business incubators since the early 1990s, the typical purpose of this investment being to provide a nurturing environment for business start-ups while contributing to local economic development. However, this summation of the functions of business incubation does not identify an essential dichotomy concerning the goals of incubator sponsors. Business incubators depend upon a range of stakeholders (including board members, managers and tenants) for their initial establishment, and subsequently, in their ongoing operation. A review of the extant literature suggests the presence of a ‘research gap ’ in the literature. This ‘gap ’ indicates a failure to consider the goals, benefits and costs accruing to, or being borne by, Australian business incubator stakeholders, especially those involved in boards of management, this group, usually without recompense, providing ongoing governance, mentoring, business advice and other essential services to their incubators. The literature review provided the necessary background which allowed the researcher t