Navigating the incubation journey : challenges faced by startups in business incubators
Gulia, Disha ; Arora, Sapna ; Malik, Mohit LU
and Sharma, Akriti
(2025)
In Journal of Small Business Strategy
35(3).
p.14-28
- Abstract
This study investigates the influential challenges that startups face within business incubators, specifically from entrepreneur’s perspective. While incubators provide crucial support for early-stage ventures, startups even within these supportive settings often encounter significant challenges that can hinder their growth and success. The study employed an integrated approach of literature review and expert opinions to examine these challenges, modeling their linkages and categorizing them into cause-and-effect groups using a hybrid Fuzzy-DEMATEL approach. These findings are integrated into a comprehensive framework aimed at improving the understanding and prioritization of the challenges from entrepreneur’s perspective. The research... (More)
This study investigates the influential challenges that startups face within business incubators, specifically from entrepreneur’s perspective. While incubators provide crucial support for early-stage ventures, startups even within these supportive settings often encounter significant challenges that can hinder their growth and success. The study employed an integrated approach of literature review and expert opinions to examine these challenges, modeling their linkages and categorizing them into cause-and-effect groups using a hybrid Fuzzy-DEMATEL approach. These findings are integrated into a comprehensive framework aimed at improving the understanding and prioritization of the challenges from entrepreneur’s perspective. The research sheds light on these roadblocks and how they relate to one another, offering entrepreneurs, policymakers, and incubator managers practical insights to enhance incubation experience. The study aims to help decision-makers create workable plans to deal with problems and improve systems of assistance in business incubators. Ultimately, this research contributes to improving the climate for innovation and startup growth, thereby illuminating the route to success in incubation programs.
(Less)
- author
- Gulia, Disha
; Arora, Sapna
; Malik, Mohit
LU
and Sharma, Akriti
- publishing date
- 2025-09-18
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Business Incubators, Challenges, Fuzzy-DEMATEL Approach, Startups
- in
- Journal of Small Business Strategy
- volume
- 35
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 14 - 28
- publisher
- Small Business Institute
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105016490185
- ISSN
- 1081-8510
- DOI
- 10.53703/001c.138480
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- e109ee96-71f4-4ca9-86ec-3a703b342660
- date added to LUP
- 2026-02-09 11:10:26
- date last changed
- 2026-05-19 01:15:20
@article{e109ee96-71f4-4ca9-86ec-3a703b342660,
abstract = {{<p>This study investigates the influential challenges that startups face within business incubators, specifically from entrepreneur’s perspective. While incubators provide crucial support for early-stage ventures, startups even within these supportive settings often encounter significant challenges that can hinder their growth and success. The study employed an integrated approach of literature review and expert opinions to examine these challenges, modeling their linkages and categorizing them into cause-and-effect groups using a hybrid Fuzzy-DEMATEL approach. These findings are integrated into a comprehensive framework aimed at improving the understanding and prioritization of the challenges from entrepreneur’s perspective. The research sheds light on these roadblocks and how they relate to one another, offering entrepreneurs, policymakers, and incubator managers practical insights to enhance incubation experience. The study aims to help decision-makers create workable plans to deal with problems and improve systems of assistance in business incubators. Ultimately, this research contributes to improving the climate for innovation and startup growth, thereby illuminating the route to success in incubation programs.</p>}},
author = {{Gulia, Disha and Arora, Sapna and Malik, Mohit and Sharma, Akriti}},
issn = {{1081-8510}},
keywords = {{Business Incubators; Challenges; Fuzzy-DEMATEL Approach; Startups}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{14--28}},
publisher = {{Small Business Institute}},
series = {{Journal of Small Business Strategy}},
title = {{Navigating the incubation journey : challenges faced by startups in business incubators}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.53703/001c.138480}},
doi = {{10.53703/001c.138480}},
volume = {{35}},
year = {{2025}},
}