Technology Business Incubators in China and India: A Comparative Analysis

Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in China and India are compared by employing an analytical framework that combines national system of innovation (NSI) concept and a modified TBI integrative framework. Two research questions are investigated: (1) What are the management polices & practices of, and incubation services offered by the TBIs in China and India? (2) How successful are the TBI's in China and India? Data are gathered through interview and questionnaire survey and from secondary sources using 'triangulation' technique to increase the validity of the results. Our findings reveal that there are a number of similarities (including objectives, selection criteria for tenants, funding of new ventures, and various basic services provided) and differences (including ownership/legal status, nature of structure and governance, funding, value-added and specialists services provided to the tenants, incubation period, and number of TBIs, tenants, employees, and revenues) between the TBIs of China and India. The findings also suggest that both systems evolved in a particular path way due to specific national context, which led to most of these differences. Our study is important as it provides comparative insights into TBI systems fostering entrepreneurship development in two large and fast growing emerging economies, which show not only how both can learn from each other but also provide policy lessons for other countries.