The Role of Virtual Business Incubation Services in Enterprise Development: A Critical Analysis of International Best Practices

Abstract

This paper seeks to evaluate the role that virtual business incubation services play in supporting enterprise development. The relative capital-intensiveness and outreach limitations by the available conventional physical business incubation justify the importance of virtual business incubation services. Virtual incubation services are delivered through extension workers, online tools and off-site advisory services. However, no one incubator practice, policy, or service has the guarantee to produce virtual incubation program success. Instead, it’s the integration among multiple practices, policies, and services that produce optimal outcomes. Thus, it’s the relationship between helpful policies and services that matter most for virtual incubator success.