Enhancing expert contribution in university business incubation: Case study of college of arts, media and technology new product development project

Abstract

In the last decade, business incubation has been an important strategy for promoting business and entrepreneurship development, both in developing countries and the EU. According to the United Nations Creative Economy Report 2010, there are a number of features indicating that in 2008-2009, the world economy faced its most severe recession in 70 years, which largely undermined growth, employment and quality of life. In this context, while traditional businesses and manufacturing were seriously hit, the knowledge-based creative sectors were more resistant to this world crisis. This paper addresses the issue of experts' motivation and contributions to university New Product Development (NPD) projects through a specific methodology. A case study developed at the College of Arts, Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University (CMU) is provided to validate the proposed methodology. An individual case study was employed to analyze the results and outcomes of the project. Findings reveal that to ensure long-term success of the university NPD project and University Business Incubation (UBI) center, a spiral of knowledge (SECI model) is essential to reach higher levels of knowledge. This spiral of knowledge can be achieved by raising experts' motivation and contribution towards the university by continuous contribution from experts and/or an expansion of the expert network. © 2011 IEEE.