Student incubators in China : The cases in Shanghai and Wuhan

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the impact of environmental contextual characteristics on incubator practice. Environmental contextual characteristics refer to both the organizational character of the host university and the regional features where the university incubator is located, which intertwine and jointly shape the current profile of university incubators. Drawing upon two case studies of incubators in two universities with varying disciplinary strength (science and engineering, and teacher education) in two different cities (Shanghai and Wuhan), this chapter examines management policies and practices of the two student incubators and how such incubator profiles are framed by environmental contextual perspectives. This chapter first demonstrates the entrepreneurship initiative and student entrepreneurship development as background of the generation of university incubators, followed by an introduction to the two cases of university incubators. It then compares the varied incubation policies, structures, and practices in the two cases underpinned by regional characteristics and organizational institutions, supplying empirical evidence for further policy recommendations regarding student incubators and entrepreneurship in China.