The intellectual capital of business incubators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework to analyze the intellectual capital (IC) of new generation business incubators. Design/methodology/approach – The paper carries out a literature-based analysis of the different components of the IC of business incubators and develops a conceptual framework that links the business incubators’ IC to the IC of incubated firms. Findings – The paper provides an analytical model able to support practitioners and scholars to better understand and evaluate the IC criticalities and requirements of incubators. The notion of incubation path is developed. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the extant literature about the intangible assets of business incubators by analyzing in detail how these structures use their IC to perform their activities.