Areas and forms of operation of academic business incubators alongside startup organizations

Incubators constitute the institutional and organizational support for companies in the early stages of development. One of the categories of incubators are academic business incubators whose activity is examined in this study. Based on the literature analysis the study presents concepts and problems associated with the operation of startups in the knowledge economy and the characterized organizations constituting institutional support for this type of organization. The research will verify the hypothesis that business incubators operating in the academic environment are important for the development of innovative products and services, created within the framework of the startup organizations supported. This is connected with the business model adopted by incubators. It is based on the combination of infrastructure, technology and know-how with the social capital of the academic environment. The diagnosis of the activity and the impact of academic business incubators is part of the analysis of the ecosystem of Polish startups conducted by the author