Business Incubators in Brazil: Main Gaps to Be Explored by Academic Researchers

The business incubators have an essential role at any global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through the support offered to entrepreneurs in terms of infrastructure and management, they reduce mortality risk of startup companies and contribute to better performance of the country’s economy. In order to make a contribution to the academia and to business incubators, this paper is primarily engaged in performing a literature review on Brazilian and international academic basis in order to identify which are the main themes of research conducted involving Brazilian business incubators. The results show that most of the themes are associated with the services provision by the incubators and its management; however, there are many gaps yet to be explored by academic researchers, such as internal characteristics or the interrelationship between business incubators and triple helix.


Introduction
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data (GEM), nowdays Brazil is well-known as one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world, holding an Entrepreneurial Activity Rate (EAR) of approximately 17.2% (GEM, 2014).According to GEM, the EAR can be defined as the total number of individuals between 18 and 64 years who are starting a new business.
Of course, in an entrepreneur ecosystem it coexist all types of entrepreneurs, from the one who is starting a venture without structure to the one that, on the positive end, has an innovative idea which could revolutionize the guidelines of an economic segment.Perhaps for this last group, much more structured than the first one, the difference between failure and success resides in the aid and support provided by specialized agencies that assist entrepreneurs in suppressing their deficiencies and minimizes the risks associated with the entrance into highly competitive markets.This is precisely the main business incubator function.
According to ANTROPEC (2015), "the business incubator aims to support entrepreneurs so that they can develop new ideas and turn them into successful enterprises.For this, it offers infrastructure and management support, guiding them on business management and competitiveness, among other key issues for the development of a company." According to the latest study conducted by the National Promoting Innovative Ventures Entities Association in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, currently Brazil has 384 incubators in operation (ANPROTEC, 2011), a number considered low when compared to the economy's size.Worldwide, the total In this context the following questions arise: how is it possible to maximize the business incubator program in Brazil?What are the current critical processes that can be improved?What are the management errors to be improved?There are many questions to be answered and the academia, through well-structured research in management, can provide valuable answers.
In order to make a contribution to academia and to the topic of business incubators, this paper will developed a literature review to answer the following question: "Which are the main themes addressed by academic research related to the incubation process involving Brazilian entities and what are the potential issues to be better explored?" In order to answer this question, the following objectives were unfolded: 1) analyze the main Brazilian and international scientific bases looking for papers related to Brazilian business incubators; 2) perform the screening of paper related to business incubators on research in Brazil, analyze and classify the results and 3) establish conclusions on the main issues addressed and point out the gaps to be further explored by academia.

Definitions and concepts related to business incubators
Business incubators are organizations which promote innovative projects.According to ANTROPEC (2015), "the business incubator aims to support entrepreneurs so that they can develop new ideas and turn them into successful enterprises.In order to reach this objective, it offers infrastructure and management support guiding entrepreneurs on the business management, competitiveness and other key issues related to the development of a company".
According to the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA, 2015), incubators are organizations that promote the development of entrepreneurial companies, helping them to survive and develop during the initial phase, when they are most vulnerable.Through assessments, guidelines and consultancies, among other activities, it is created an environment which enables the start-ups strengthening (Jeffrey, 2013).
In Brazil the first incubators emerged in the 80's -the first incubator was created in 1982 in São Carlos (SP) by the High Technology Park Foundation, as presented by Lahorgue (2004).Until 1987, there were few incubators operating in Brazil according to Franco et al. (2010).
The consolidation of the business incubators importance in Brazil occurred in 1987 with the creation of the ANPROTEC whose mission is to represent and defend the interests of incubators and technology parks, stimulating the creation and strengthening the knowledge-based companies.(Miziara & Carvalho, 2008apud Sousa & Beuren, 2012).It is from this year that began the process of business incubators implementation in Brazil began, according to Medeiros & Atas (1995).
The Figure 1 shows the evolution of the number of business incubators in Brazil since 1988, taking into account data informed by Franco et al. (2010) andANPROTEC (2015).It is important to mention that the available data in the literature starts in 1988 and ends in 2011.Also, the year of 2010 is omitted in the Figure 1 because no data was found in the literature for this specific year.According to Souza & Beuren (2012), the main advantages of a company being supported by an incubator are the available infrastructure (services and resources), the quality of incubator services and access to development institutions.Regarding the disadvantages, most companies do not perceive any loss by participating in an incubation program, however, some of them mentioned difficulties in establishing cooperation and partnership with other incubated companies, difficulties in obtaining resources, funding and loans via incubator.Excessive self-protectionism from incubators' management was also mentioned a few times.
The period in which a company remains incubated, called incubation process, is divided into phases each one with distinct characteristics and features (Raupp & Beuren, 2011).The number of phases and its corresponding names vary according to the referenced author.Medeiros & Atas (1995) presents four stages associated with incubating process: enterprise deployment in an incubator, growth, maturation and consolidation.Russi Junior (1999) details the process in five phases: establishment of the company and commencement of the operations, product or service launch, growth, maturation, consolidation and program shutdown.
According to Moreira (2002), the phases of the incubation process are: selection phase: it is the selection of the project to be installed in the incubator; • incubation phase: this phase is the formalization of the incubation and enterprise installation; • pre-incubation process: It develops initiatives related to improving the quality and increasing the number of candidates for incubation programs; • monitoring the graduated companies: it is the periodic analysis of the companies which are already graduated by the incubator and the measurement of its economic, social and technological impact; • capture process: it is related to projects that aim to on capture financial resources from development institutions or funding agencies -from its preparation to its execution and monitoring.
Finally, Chandra & Fealey (2009) compares the incubation models in Brazil, China and USA in terms of adopted policies and practices.
Although there are similarities in relation to features such as infrastructure provision and access to development finance institutions, there are differences in strategic focus, funding sources, types of incubators and government intervention in incubators.Table 1 presents this comparison in details.

Scientific Research Classification
The classification of this scientific research follows the classical criteria.From the perspective of methods, this research presents deductive characteristics because it analyzes papers published in scientific bases and deduces conclusions based on this information.According to Lakatos & Marconi (2003), the deduction allows conclusions from true premises.To Silva & Menezes (2005), the deduction aims to explain the content of assumptions and facts through reason.Based on Andrade (1999), this method was firstly introduced by René Descarte for which the only way to find a certainty is through the reason -the absolute principle of human knowledge.
Regarding the technical procedures this research can be classified as bibliographic because it employs materials already developed and published mainly books and scientific papers.According to Gil (2002) and Lakatos & Marconi (2003), the bibliographic research covers the entire literature already published in relation to the subject of study.Its purpose is to put the researcher in direct contact with all that has been written, said or filmed about the subject of study.
Considering the approach of the research question, this research is classified as a qualitative one since it owns a sequence of activities involving data reduction, categorization, interpretation and final conclusion.According to Gil (2002), this procedure represents a qualitative study.As per Silva & Menezes (2005), interpreting the data and assigning meanings to it is essential in the qualitative research process which does not require the use of statistical methods.Based on Godoy (1995), the qualitative research does not attempt to enumerate the events studied nor employs statistical instrumental in analyzing the data base.
Regarding the nature of this research, it is classified as applied.According to Silva & Menezes (2005), applied research is the one which generates knowledge for practical application and aims on solving specific problems.
Finally, in regards to the objective it is classified as exploratory.According to Gil (2002), the exploratory research aims on the improve-ment of ideas or on the discovery of intuitions in order to provide greater familiarity with the studied question.

Research Method
This scientific research consists in a review of the literature related to the theme business incubator in Brazil, highlighting the main issues surveyed.The investigated scientific bases were the Web of Science, SciELO and Periódicos Capes.It was also carried out specific research related to events and seminars at the ANPROTEC website.The terms used for the search in the scientific bases were "incubadora de empresas" combined with the word "Brasil" and their translations into English "business incubators" and "Brazil".
Initially it forty (40) papers were found, however, the sample to be studied consisted in thirty three (33) papers after deleting the duplicates.The themes addressed in these papers were identified and classified according to the categories presented in

Results and Discussion
As presented on the item Research Method item (3.2), after the first screening there were thirty three (33) papers remaining.These papers were classified based on their themes and the result of this analysis is presented at Table 3. Describe the relationships network and identify the importance of these relationships to the organizational performance of small incubated ITBs in the perception of the entrepreneurs.

Item
Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação 14 Gaspar (2008) Analyze the influence of venture capital and business incubation on the decision to create new companies and in their success, that is, in the survival of the startups.
Revista Portuguesa e Brasileira de Gestão

Item Reference
Theme / Subject Journal or Magazine 15 Gonçalves & Freire (2007) Analyze the process of information communication (information transfer and its transformation into knowledge) in a technological incubator at the Gênesis Institute of Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC) located in Rio de Janeiro.
Ciência da Informação 16 Gurgel (2007) Show the importance of incubators to the creation and implantation of lasting and healthy companies, as well as for the overcoming of the high index of companies' mortality.
Revista Ibero-Americana de Estratégia Highlight the relevance of the services and resources available at an incubator, as well as identify the expectations perceived by the entrepreneurs in the incubation process.
Revista GESTÃO.Based on the database above, a first classification according to the groups presented in Table 2 was elaborated and the results are presented on Figure 1.It shows that 15% of the papers have their themes associated with "main process" (Group 1) and 85% of the papers have their themes associated with "general characteristics" (Group 2), which demonstrate a high possibility of researches which can be developed in Group 1.In numbers, the Group 1 has only five (5) papers and the Group 2 has twenty eight (28) papers.In this scenario, it is important to mention Zouain & Silveira (2006), who claim that the "main process" (Group 1) has a strict relation with the efficiency of an incubator to turn incubates into successful companies.
Figure 1: Distribution of the papers according to the groups presented in Table 2 Source: elaborated by the authors Specifically for papers associated with "main process" (Group 1), five (5) papers are connected with the "incubation process" (item 1.2).Four (4) papers were related to "development" (item 1.2.3) and one (1) paper was associated with "growth" (item 1.2.4).Regarding the other topics presented in Group 1 no studies have been found published in scientific papers, which shows the great potential for researchers to explore these themes.Additionally, Zouain & Silveira (2006) highlights the high importance of the "pre-incubation process" (item 1.1), the "selection" (item 1.2.1) and "monitoring the graduated companies" (item 1.3) to the success of an incubation program, corroborating the need for researches and management innovation in these areas.
Figure 2: Distribution of the papers according to "general characteristics" (Group 2) as per Table 2.
Source: elaborated by the authors Based on the above figure, it can be noted the need for a greater number of scientific researches related to the "strategic focus" (item 2.1.1),the "type of incubated business" (item 2.1.2),the "role of government" (item 2.1.3),the "interrelationship between incubators" (item 2.2) and "triple helix" (item 2.3.2).According to Anholon & Silva (2015), when analyzing the CELTA incubator in Florianópolis -Santa Catarina, all of these items are extremely important to the success of an incubation program.
Among all the items above, the authors of this papers highlight the urgent need for further research about the "triple helix" (item 2.3.2), or in another words, about the interrelation of incubators with universities, government and companies.According to Chandra & Fealey (2009), in other countries like China and US the interfaces between the groups mentioned are better developed and more mature than those ones observed in the Brazilian incubation program.
The greatest amount of researches was associated with "services" (item 2.3.1),which addresses the work offered provided by the incubators.
Besides the quality of the services provided, these researches also discuss current themes such as sustainable practices, self-financing of incubators and consultancy provided by incubators to companies regarding their internationalization.

Conclusion
As mentioned above, this paper was engaged in the analysis of the main bases of national and international scientific data in order to identify the most important themes of research associated with to the incubation program for Brazilian companies.The search in scientific bases enabled the finding of thirty three (33) papers which were analyzed and divided into categories structured according to the authors Moreira (2002), Zouain & Silveira (2006), Raupp & Beuren (2011) and Chandra & Fealey, (2009).
In light of the results found, it was possible to answer the proposed question issue.The main researched theme on Brazilian incubators is related to their characteristics, primarily the provided services and secondarily the management (personnel, information).This topic presented a significant higher number of scientific researches than any other themes which had one, at maximum, four published works.
The conclusion is that there are many areas to be explored in scientific research, which can provide positive results to the Brazilian incubation program.For the "main process" (Group 1) the gaps to be explored by researchers are noticed in all items.For the "general characteristics" (Group 2) the gaps to be explored by researchers are mainly perceived in the "internal characteristics" (item 2.1), "interrelationship between incubators" (item 2.2) and "triple helix" (item 2.3.2).
Thus, it is expected that the results and conclusions presented in this paper can be valuable to both the academia and the business incubators as a starting point for further research to provide better results to the Brazilian incubation program.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Evolution on the quantity of business incubators in Brazil Source: elaborated by the authors based on Franco, et al. (2010) and ANPROTEC (2015)

17
Iacono et al. (2011)   In light of the new innovation paradigm (interactive nature of innovation), evaluate the cooperation and interaction of based-technology incubators enterprises.Revista de Administração Pública (RAP) 18 Leca et.al (2014) Present the challenges and contributions of the academic area to the worker cooperatives incubators.Organization 19 Potrich et al. (2013) Characterize the information security management on the context of incubated and graduated companies of the Technology Incubator of Santa Maria (of the support offered by the Brazilian incubators to the incubated companies.Revista Eletrônica de Administração 21 Ribeiro et al. (2005) Generate understanding about the role of government in promoting technological innovation an incubator of companies.Case study performed in the municipal district of Santa Rita do Sapucaí (MG).Cadernos EBAPE.BR 22 Robinson (2010) Propose a three stage model of the development of business incubation practices in emerging markets.Journal of Technology Management & Innovation23Shin & Lamy (2006) Examine paths of commercial learning in incubators based on the scientistentrepreneurs vision which represents the acme of strong science and enterthat entrepreneurs and managers involved with incubators have about science, technology, innovation and their relations in the social context.

Table 2 .
Categories by themes used to classify papers.Source: elaborated by the authors In order to clarify the items presented in the general characteristics (Group 2 of Table2), below there is a brief description of each item.

Table 3 .
Papers analyzed after the first screening.Source: elaborated by authors.