Incubation model of the Maker Spaces in China: co-working or co-creating?

ABSTRACT

The Maker Space, as a new kind of incubation platform with Chinese characteristics, has developed rapidly in response to government policies. Two divergent incubation models exist in the Chinese market, but existing literature does not provide enough solid evidence regarding which model is better for start-up developments. Combined with evolutionary game theory, this paper analyzes the evolutionary stability strategy of Maker Space-start-ups-Universities & Research Institutes (MSUR) collaborative innovation behaviour and, separately, its impact factors under ‘co-working’ and ‘co-creating’ incubation model. A numerical simulation is conducted to verify evolutionary game results and the effects of impact factors on behavioural evolution. The research indicates that different managerial strategies in incubation models are vital for innovation entities’ collaborative decisions and the growth of incubated start-ups. A ‘co-creating’ model is relatively better for collaborative innovation, but a ‘co-working’ model also has applicability.

KEYWORDS:

• Incubation model
• maker space
• co-working
• co-creating
• evolutionary game

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Social Science Funded Project of China [Grant Number 18BGL082,18FGL020]; Jiangsu Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Plan [Grant Number KYCX19_0144].

Notes on contributors

Shanting Wei

Shanting Wei, is a PhD student at the School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, China. Her research interests include innovation and technology management, entrepreneurship and innovation network.

Zhuo Zhang

Zhuo Zhang, holds a doctoral degree and is currently a full professor of management science and engineering at the School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, China. His research interests include open innovation and strategic management.

Xintong Chen

Xintong Chen, is a PhD student at the School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, China. His research interests include game theory and computational simulation.