The impact of government policy on the relationship between critical success factors and incubation contributions

The business incubation model has been adopted by many countries since the concept was first introduced in the United States. It has now received much attention among policymakers and academics especially within the field of entrepreneurship. The model was adopted in Nigeria in 1993 but the results of the program seem to have failed to live up to expectations. This study therefore looked into the role of government policy towards incubator‘s performance in Nigeria. Data were collected from the stakeholders in Nigeria with direct involvement in the national program. A sequential mixed methods approach was applied in this study. The quantitative survey data were first analysed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), then the thematic analysis of interview data were conducted to substantiate the survey findings. Based on both Resource Based View (RBV) and contingency theory, the study confirms the three critical success factors affecting incubator‘s performance: business support, financial resources and infrastructure. It also found the evidence of the moderating role of government policy on the relationship between critical success factors and incubator‘s performance. This study justified the needs for strong business support, adequate financial resources and infrastructure, and more importantly, an effective government policy to ensure the success of national incubation program. This study made conceptual contribution by linking RBV and contingency theory in explaining the contributing factors to business incubation performance