Start-Up Incubation: a Rite of Passage of Entrepreneurs and Their Social Ventures

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Start-Up Incubation: a Rite of Passage of Entrepreneurs and Their Social Ventures ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY LORD ASHCROFT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL START-UP INCUBATION: A RITE OF PASSAGE OF ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR SOCIAL VENTURES IRINA POPOVA A thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Anglia Ruskin University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Submitted: December 2016 Acknowledgements I would like to say a big thank you to my supervisors, Prof. Simon Down, Dr. Alison Hirst and Dr. David Arkell, for your guidance, support and belief in me. Once again, I would not have managed without you. I am grateful to Anglia Ruskin University for offering the bursary for my research degree. I am proud to be part of such a vibrant and warm organisation. I would like to thank the Social Incubator management and staff for allowing me to be part of their project and making my study possible. In addition, thanks to all the PhD students I met at Lord Ashcroft International Business School for the moral support and sharing the experience with me. You managed to make it fun. Most of all, love and gratitude to my family, Petranka, Vladimir and Nina. Despite being far away you managed to support me emotionally on my journey! i ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT LORD ASHCROFT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY START-UP INCUBATION: A RITE OF PASSAGE OF ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR SOCIAL VENTURES IRINA POPOVA December 2016 This dissertation presents a socio-anthropological investigation of social venture incubation: a process of providing enterprise support aimed at creating social change. Most previous research on incubation has focused on venture development and growth, and the efficacy of incubation in terms of the economic contribution firms make. In this study I contribute by investigating the process of incubation, conceptualising it as a rite of passage of both the entrepreneur and the venture. I conducted an ethnographic study following the rites of passage of one cohort of social entrepreneurs and their ventures - from selection to incorporation into the business world. The insider perspective provided access to both the organisers and designers of the process as well as the entrepreneurs over a period of 15 months. I thematically analysed my data with NVivo using an a priori and emergent coding system. The key finding of the study was the dual nature of the incubatee, the liminal entity in this rite of passage. As opposed to most incubation studies, I found that the process was as much a transition of the ventures as it was for the entrepreneurs. The rite of passage framework enabled me to identify the transition to becoming a social entrepreneur. In addition the study contributes theoretically showing the importance of social exchanges in participants’ relationships as well as the variety of different engagement patterns in the entrepreneurial rite of passage. Engagement also influences incubation outcomes and evaluation. The value of the research findings for managers of such initiatives include designing relevant evaluation systems and strengthening the case for social incubation. Policy makers and funders of such initiatives thus need to take into account the different outcomes and impact of the programmes when allocating resources. The dual nature of the incubatee and impact on the incubatee should thus be taken into account when setting expected outcomes. Key words: social venture incubation, social entrepreneur, incubator, start up, social innovation, social extrapreneurship, ethnography, rite of passage, impact, social exchange ii COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with: (i) Anglia Ruskin University for one year and thereafter with (ii) Irina Popova This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is bound by copyright. iii Table of Contents List of Figures, Tables and Boxes ............................................................................................... vii List of acronyms ............................................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Incubation, social ventures and social entrepreneurs ............................................. 1 1. Rationale, research aim and emerging questions .............................................................. 1 2. Key definitions .......................................................................................................................... 6 3. Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Contextualising social venture incubation............................................................... 10 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 2. The problem with theorising incubation .............................................................................. 11 2.1 The ontology of incubation ............................................................................................. 11 2.2 Incubation process models and theorising .................................................................. 13 2.3 Incubation complexity and engagement ...................................................................... 15 2.4 Incubation impact and outcomes .................................................................................. 16 2.5 Communities of practice and identity theory ............................................................... 18 3. Positioning incubation theoretically as a RoP ................................................................... 19 3.1 van Gennep and the Rite of Passage schema ........................................................... 19 3.2 Victor Turner's extension of RoP ................................................................................... 23 3.3 Masters of ceremony and liminars ................................................................................ 26 3.4 Current applications of liminality and the rite of passage schema ........................... 27 4. Social exchange theory ......................................................................................................... 29 5. The nature of incubatees ...................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship ............................................................................ 32 7. Research questions and objectives .................................................................................... 37 Chapter 3: Investigating social incubation .................................................................................. 39 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 39 2. Ontology, epistemology and truth........................................................................................ 40 3. Demonstrating rigour and quality ........................................................................................ 42 Objectivity vs. Confirmability ......................................................................................................... 42 Reliability vs. Dependability .......................................................................................................... 43 Internal validity vs. Credibility ....................................................................................................... 44 External validity vs. Transferability .............................................................................................. 45 4. Ethnographic approach to investigating social incubation .............................................. 46 5. Research design .................................................................................................................... 47 5.1 Context .............................................................................................................................. 47 iv 5.2 The access journey ......................................................................................................... 48 5.3 Fieldwork and work in the field ...................................................................................... 50 Joining the incubator ...................................................................................................................... 52 Halfway through .............................................................................................................................. 53 Graduation ....................................................................................................................................... 54 6. Identity work and ethics ........................................................................................................ 55 7. Data recording, analysis and writing ................................................................................... 59 Chapter 4: Designing social incubation ...................................................................................... 63 1. Introduction to the chapter .................................................................................................... 63 2. Social venture incubator - aims, intentions and design ................................................... 64 2.1 The steering group - roles and intentions ...................................................................
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