Title: Benchmarking the Nigerian private innovation incubators: analysis of the influence of firm age, firm size, and employee qualification on their innovation activities

Authors: Babasile D. Oladele-Emmanuel; Tobias Redlich; Jens P. Wulfsberg

Addresses: Laboratory of Manufacturing Technology, Helmut Schmidt University, Holstenhofsweg 85, 22043, Hamburg, Germany ' Laboratory of Manufacturing Technology, Helmut Schmidt University, Holstenhofsweg 85, 22043, Hamburg, Germany ' Laboratory of Manufacturing Technology, Helmut Schmidt University, Holstenhofsweg 85, 22043, Hamburg, Germany

Abstract: There is no doubt that innovation is integral to the development and competitiveness of nations and firms. The significance of innovation is partly due to the influence of innovation incubators (IIs). IIs are significant interfacial firms that contribute to the transfer of technologies from inventors to the commercial sector. Existing literature on the contribution of IIs in Nigeria is focused on government-funded technology-based incubators, whereas no study has investigated the impact of privately owned IIs. Since this is a novel study in the Nigerian context, we employed a mixed methods research approach. Qualitative data were gathered from private IIs (PIIs), and cross-tabulation analysis was used to test the relationships between the variables. The study reveals that firm size influences the ability of PIIs to generate funds through self-funding and their ability to generate revenue from their innovation expenditure.

Keywords: innovation incubators; private incubators; innovation metrics; firm age; firm size; employee qualification; Nigeria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2022.125687

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2022 Vol.14 No.3, pp.244 - 271

Received: 03 Jul 2021
Accepted: 15 Nov 2021
Published online: 26 Sep 2022 *

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