An empirical analysis into the underlying components impacting upon business incubation performance of Malaysian ICT incubators
Creators: name: Abdul Khalid, Fararishah
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024

description: This thesis examines the influence of Selection Performance, Monitoring and Business Assistance Intensity, Resource Allocation, and Professional Management Services on business incubation performance. This study extends current research by investigating an additional construct which examines targeted areas of professional management services including marketing and promotion, strategic management, financial management, and staff and personnel management. The literature suggests that limited academic research on incubation development in Malaysia has been undertaken and information regarding business incubation in Malaysia is primarily descriptive providing a limited view of the incubation system. The need for an investigation of the incubation system’s impact, effectiveness, and sustainability has been revealed in the recently announced Tenth Malaysia Plan 2011-2015.<br><br>The present thesis adopts a mixed-methods approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative studies. A total of 118 incubatees from all 15 ICT incubators in Malaysia participated in the quantitative study. Items for the questionnaire were derived from a previously conducted study and prior incubation research. A framework consisting of four independent variables and one dependent variable with four possible outcomes of incubatee performance was developed. An iterative procedure was utilised, consisting of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multinomial logistic regression (MLR). The latter statistical technique enabled the researcher to test relationships between the underlying components extracted from the EFA and business incubation performance.<br><br>Findings reveal that Selection Performance, Monitoring and Business Assistance Intensity, Resource Allocation, and Professional Management Services are all statistically significant in predicting business incubation performance with significance level all below the .05 level. The strongest predictor came from the interaction of all four constructs. Further analysis elaborates the prediction capabilities of each extracted component from the EFA on specific categories of business incubation performance. <br><br>The qualitative study involves case studies developed from interviews with six ICT incubator managers guided by an interview protocol. Two approaches in presenting the qualitative data were adopted: within-case analysis and cross-case analysis. The within-case analysis presents a thorough review of each ICT incubator, while the purpose of the cross-case analysis is to derive conclusions from a set of cases. <br><br>The significant influence of Selection Performance in enhancing business incubation performance is a key finding of this thesis. ICT incubators would do well to note the nature of the results in regard to Monitoring and Business Assistance Intensity where providing incubatees with comprehensive business assistance is warranted. Additionally, ICT incubators need to be at par with benchmarked incubation practices that aid in the sophistication of technology, e.g. technology labs and networking with technology experts. Incubatees’ performance may improve if appropriate resources were made available and easily accessible. The significance of targeted Professional Management Services should be taken into account as results show that incubatees value the services yet the level of implementation of the services generally tended to be poor. Findings from this study provide a clearer understanding of the ICT incubation practices in Malaysia and offer several implications for research, policymakers, and practitioners. <br>