Title: Role of regulation in facilitating entrepreneurship: a study of incubation in Belgium

Authors: Amélie Jacquemin; Frank Janssen

Addresses: ESSCA – School of Management, LUNAM Université, rue Lakanal, 1, BP 40348 Angers CEDEX 01, France ' Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain School of Management, Place des Doyens, 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Abstract: This study aims at understanding the role played by a regulation adopted to facilitate venture creation in Belgium by institutionalising business incubators for job-seekers and social assistance recipients. We had semi-directive interviews with 14 incubated nascent entrepreneurs. Our results confirm that those entrepreneurs who discover regulatory opportunities created by supporting regulations have a high level of alertness to and prior knowledge of the institutional environment. This knowledge may be usefully reinforced by the support regulations themselves. Moreover, our results show that the positive impact of a support regulation partly depends on the characteristics of the regulation per se. A support regulation that creates too many formalities to take advantage of the measure prevent many entrepreneurs from applying for support. Our findings also show that it is important when adopting a support regulation to make it transparent on its conditions and clear on the potential gains associated with the measure.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; regulation; opportunity detection; Belgium; incubation; business incubators; venture creation; institutionalisation; job seekers; social assistance; nascent entrepreneurs; regulatory opportunities; entrepreneurial opportunities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2013.057204

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2013 Vol.20 No.4, pp.497 - 519

Published online: 30 Apr 2014 *

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