Incubation in the Creative Industries

What values does a non-profit incubator in the creative industries produce? and Who are the beneficiaries of this? An Incubator is often regarded as a tool for stimulating entrepreneurship. An incubator seeks to provide a value for, among others, entrepreneurs, governments, partner companies and itself. The beneficiaries of these values depend on the model of incubation. This thesis studies how, where and for whom a non-profit incubator in the creative industries is able to create a value. Besides that, it also discusses the ways in which these values can be made visible and quantified. This is done by building on the existing body of research that focuses on university and for-profit incubators. The main challenge is to see whether and where this research applies to a non-profit incubator that is not related to a university. Contrary to most incubation research this thesis uses an ethnographic approach. By residing in an incubator (MediaGuild) for a period of three months it was possible to make observations and study daily routines. This data has been combined with the qualitative interviews that have been conducted with the incubators founders, managers, incubatees and others. An incubator can create values in the incubation process through its entry and exit procedure and by providing incubatees with facilities, knowledge and networks. At the same time an incubator can provide a service to society by moderating between education and business.