Between a Soft Landing and a Hard Place: How Silicon Valley Software and Life Sciences Business Incubators Facilitate Learning

Incubators are increasingly used to support the development of technology-based nascent entrepreneurs and typically provide a range of services and resources. In providing such support, incubators use a variety of practices such as peer-to-peer learning, workshops, mentoring and access to wider expert support network. This chapter explores the practices through which incubators facilitate lower and higher order learning. This chapter applies theories of Organizational Learning and uses a multi case study of software and life sciences incubators in Silicon Valley. The findings suggest that software incubators focus on facilitating higher-order learning, by creating a high-pressure environment that challenges the start-up’s existing technologies, markets and business models, and stimulates start-ups to experiment with new ideas. In contrast, life science incubators emphasize lower-order learning and optimization of existing technologies by providing quick access to missing knowledge.