The integral role of incubator managers in supporting tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing

ABSTRACT

Managers perform an important role at incubators by coordinating and managing operations while facilitating, and often delivering, services that support tenants’ business growth. Less is known about the relationship between managers and tenants at incubators, and how they support tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing. In this study, in-depth interviews with incubator managers (n = 28) and tenants (n = 12) were conducted to examine the role of managers in supporting tenant’s positive psychological wellbeing, focusing on the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. The qualitative data provided consistent insights about the integral role of managers in supporting tenant’s positive psychological wellbeing, by facilitating their hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Managers are essential in supporting tenants at a critical point in their business development. Consideration is given to the role that incubator managers fulfil at incubators and the provision of support they offer tenants, to meet their business and psychological needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Business incubators
• incubator managers
• incubator tenants
• entrepreneurs
• positive psychological wellbeing

Introduction

Business incubators are contemporary facilities designed to encourage nascent business development within a supported and protective environment, fostering independence and self-sustainability in preparation for the wider business world (Aernoudt, 2004; Bliemel el., 2014; Robinson & Stubberud, 2014). Since they were first established in the USA in the 1950s, business incubators have flourished throughout the world.

An integral feature of the incubator model is the support offered to tenant¹-businesses to assist their business development and growth from within a community that endorses an ‘entrepreneurial culture’ (Ayatse et al., 2017, p. 3; Redondo-Carretero & Camarero-Izquierdo, 2017). The role of managers at incubators is vital for operationalising these facilities, and in the provision and delivery of services to tenants and their businesses (e.g. Apa et al., 2017; Bruneel et al., 2012; Monsson & Jørgensen, 2016; Redondo & Camarero, 2017) to support and enable new business success (e.g. Lewis et al., 2011; Redondo & Camerero, 2017; Breivik-Meyer et al., 2020). Research evidence consistently attests to the importance of managers in creating incubator environments that generate trust (Vedel & Gabarret, 2014; Redondo-Carretero & Camarero-Izquierdo, 2017), that foster professional networks and collaborations within the incubator and external to it (Ahmad, 2014; Apa et al., 2017; Meyer et al., 2016; Tottenham & Sten, 2005), and deliver professional business support and advice to tenants (e.g. Monsson & Jørgensen, 2016), thus expanding tenants’ knowledge (Bruneel et al., 2012).

The established understanding of managers at incubators is associated with enabling new business success however, very little research has been conducted examining the relationship between incubator managers and incubator tenants and what influence their interactions and support may have on tenants’ psychological wellbeing.

The contribution of managers in supporting the psychological needs of tenants as they approach and grow their businesses has been largely overlooked in the published literature. This is despite the importance of psychological wellbeing and the constructs associated with it. These are constructs that lead to positive benefits that can enhance workplace and entrepreneurial activities and success (e.g. Baluku et al., 2016; Baluku et al., 2018; Friend et al., 2016).

This research will investigate the relationship between managers and tenants at incubators through a positive psychology lens. It will examine the role of managers in supporting, and provisioning services that foster tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing. This will occur through an examination of the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism by collecting in-depth insights from the perspective of both incubator managers and tenants.

This research is unique in its approach. It is cross-disciplinary and applies qualitative research methods to extend the existing body of research about entrepreneurship and business incubators with an emphasis on the incubator manager-tenant relationship and the constructs associated with tenants’ positive psychology.

Positive psychology

Research on positive psychology informs the importance of, and mechanisms for developing positive psychological constructs that both protect and enhance an individual’s organizational attitudes and behaviours (Luthans et al., 2015). An empirical and conceptual exploration of positive behaviour within organizations identifies the importance of building hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (Dawkins et al., 2013; Lorenz et al., 2016).

Together, and in synergy, hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism are the ‘building blocks’ for psychological capital; a higher-order construct in which positive, internal resources are leveraged toward success (Luthans et al., 2010; Luthans et al., 2004; Luthans et al., 2007) by directing and controlling an individual’s approach and pursuit towards goals, even when they experience inevitable challenges (Luthans & Youssef-Morgan, 2017). Understanding the potential relationship between these constructs and tenants at incubators requires further exploration.

Hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism represent four important positive constructs that guide an individual’s current and future cognitions, emotions, and behaviours for positive gain and output. Each construct, which is derived from a strong theoretical foundation, offers many holistic benefits. Hope enables an individual to plan for, and direct a course of action to support goal achievement, while avoiding or addressing challenges or threats that prevent goal achievement (Luthans, 2002; Luthans et al., 2004; Snyder, 2000). Two reciprocal cognitive processes are associated with this construct: ‘pathways’ and ‘agency’ (Luthans & Jensen, 2002; Snyder et al., 2000). The former assists with planning and directing behaviours towards goals and redirecting pathways when challenges occur; the latter provides the impetus for individual to pursue their goals. Individuals with high levels of hope demonstrate direct and clear goals for achievement and can pivot to identify and implement new pathways for goal achievement (Snyder, Cheavens & Sympson, 1997) where barriers to goal achievement are perceived as potential challenges.

Efficacy guides cognitions, behaviours, and motivations, influencing and directing an individual towards successful outcomes (goals) and is synonymous with confidence and the commitment of one’s abilities to direct and action change, and control events (Bandura, 1993; Luthans et al., 2015). Efficacy assists with regulating motivation and guiding the processes and actions associated with anticipating proposed outcomes. It requires the individual to establish actions for guiding cognitive motivation (Bandura, 1993) and is influenced by successful past performance which informs experience and future expectations for success (Bandura, 1977).

Resilience enables an individual to positively adapt to adverse circumstances that optimize personal outcomes while utilising assets that can provide protection in response to adversity (Garcia-Dia et al., 2013; Masten, 2014). A range of internal and external factors protect against the stress or adversity being experienced. These factors include maturity, access to available resources, personality (Garcia-Dia et al., 2013; F. Luthans et al., 2015), while assets (such as relatives and friends) provide support in developing an individual’s resilience and cushioning adversity (Garcia-Dia et al., 2013). Being resilient facilitates positive outcomes, including personal growth and understanding, greater psychological control and strength or adjustment that can influence how an individual integrates into their environment and responds to adversity as a component of healthy functioning (Bonanno, 2004; Garcia-Dia et al., 2013).

Optimism represents the positive expectation for success that directs an individual’s behaviours towards their goals, despite inevitable challenges (Carver et al., 2010). Theoretically, optimism is associated with expectancy whereby the motivation for goal achievement, and the value attributed to the goal, propels behaviours (Carver et a., 2010). Expectancy is closely aligned with confidence for obtaining success, which in turn incites an individual towards their goals (Carver et al., 2010).

Published research offers compelling evidence for the positive influences of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Hope is associated with goal achievement (Friend et al., 2016) and positive workplace performance, commitment, and satisfaction (e.g. Reichard et al., 2013; Youssef & Luthans, 2007). Efficacy can support goal setting and job satisfaction (Luthans et al., 2015). Resilience is an important construct for employees in challenging, high-demand settings (Luthans et al., 2015; McGarry et al., 2013) while mitigating burnout (Mealer et al., 2012). Optimism is associated with elevated levels of motivation and hard work (Luthans, 2002), and persistence towards goals (Carver et al., 2010; Monzani et al., 2015).

Positive psychology and new businesses

Entrepreneurs and businesses face unique challenges when establishing new enterprises, including contextual and situational factors (Zahra et al., 2014). It is well documented that new business owners undergo intense and life-changing experiences that are often highly stressful (e.g. Shepherd et al., 2021). Researchers (e.g. Cooper et al., 2012) have proposed that the facilitation of tenants’ networking and social connections in the incubator may moderate tenant stress associated with establishing a new business. Networking for tenants, both within and external to the incubator, develops their expertise through exposure to business support and activities (e.g. Bergek & Norrman, 2008; Bøllingtoft, 2012; Hackett & Dilts, 2004; Peters, Rice, & Sundararajan, 2004). Networking within these settings also creates social capital (Scillitoe & Chakrabarti, 2005). Incubators must therefore be responsive to the holistic as well as business needs of tenants.

Hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism are important within the entrepreneurial context, and are associated with successful entrepreneurial outcomes (e.g. Baluku et al., 2016; Baluku et al., 2018). Research also offers evidence that psychological capital is associated with entrepreneurship (Bockorny, 2015; Contreras et al., 2017; Hasan et al., 2019; Jensen & Luthans, 2006; Pease & Cunningham, 2016). These constructs provide the scaffolding to support and protect their holistic and psychological wellbeing.

Despite extensive research having examined positive psychology in organizational settings, there remain gaps in the knowledge in understanding tenants’ positive psychology at business incubators. Researchers have suggested that incubators may influence the psychological development of tenants, offering benefits to tenants (e.g. Ford, 2015). However very little is known about this relationship, despite calls for greater clarity about the ‘mental preparation’ of tenants to drive their own business (Shepard, 2013, p. 228). Further exploration of the constructs of positive psychology within incubator tenants is critical given the global value attributed to these facilities in supporting new business owners to be strong, resilient and to remain positive.

Incubator managers and tenants’ business support and psychological needs

The published literature highlights the important and significant role of managers in informing and provisioning the business supports and services that tenants receive at incubators (e.g. Apa et al., 2017; Monsson & Jørgensen, 2016; Redondo-Carretero & Camarero-Izquierdo, 2017). Incubator managers must establish robust, quality relationships with tenants; the strength of which is fundamental to the process of incubation (A.J. Ahmad & Ingle, 2011, p. 639). Incubator managers who engender a strong professional connection with their tenants have the greatest impact within an incubator (Rice, 2002).

Managers are thus uniquely placed, through their interaction with, and in the provision of services for tenants, to directly and indirectly provide support to tenants to address both their business and psychological needs. However, the composition and quality of the professional relationship between managers and tenants in supporting positive psychology is not well understood. The role of managers in supporting tenants’ psychological wellbeing, specifically through the positive psychology constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, has been under-explored in the published literature. Research is needed to understand the role of incubator managers in their interactions with tenants, especially given the pervasive challenges faced by new business owners and the spread of incubators as facilities for fostering new businesses to grow and thrive.

Synthesis

A considered approach to research is required that incorporates positive psychology through the representative constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. The published literature has identified that (1) managers at incubators perform wide-ranging roles including the provision of support and services to assist tenants in growing their businesses, (2) the interactions of managers and tenants are important and far reaching, and (3) constructs linked to positive psychology within occupational settings can be beneficial for individuals in their work place, and entrepreneurial activities. However, there is a dearth of published research examining the role of incubator managers in supporting tenants positive psychology in these facilities.

The aim of this research was to examine the role of managers at incubators in supporting tenants' positive psychology by conducting cross-disciplinary research, using qualitative research methods, to examine the role of incubator managers in the delivery of services that support tenants’ positive psychology, through the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. The model guiding this research is conceptualized in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Conceptual model for the research: The role of incubator managers in supporting tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing through the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Materials and methods

Sample

In-depth interviews were conducted with incubator managers (n = 28) and incubator tenants (n = 12) from the USA, UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

Measures

A semi-structured interview schedule consisting of nine open-ended questions was developed for incubator managers. It comprised questions asking managers to reflect on their perceptions and insights about their professional role and relationship in supporting tenants' psychological wellbeing by examining the attributes associated with the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

The interview schedule commenced with questions about the type of incubator and the role they were employed in at their incubator, and the advantages and disadvantages for tenants in operating their business within the incubator. The interview schedule included questions that explored whether the incubator had supported tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing linked to the attributes associated with the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (see Appendix). This included the contribution and influence in building tenants’ business confidence (efficacy), in progressing and succeeding at their business goals while addressing challenges that can derail goal achievement (hope), the ways in which they approach and direct current and future business activities (optimism) and how challenges have been met and overcome (resilience) for them and their business. The final question in the interview schedule asked what role incubator managers had in supporting tenants’ wellbeing as they develop their businesses.

A semi-structured interview schedule for incubator tenants was also developed. It consisted of 14 open-ended questions about tenants’ experiences at the incubator. The questions were similar in focus and content to the interview schedule used with the incubator managers to obtain insights from tenants about their experiences at the incubator. The interview schedule commenced with questions about the type of incubator tenants were located in, the reasons for moving to and growing their business at a business incubator, and the contribution and influence of the incubator on their business and whether the incubator had met their expectations.

The interview schedule also included questions about how the incubator had supported tenants’ psychological wellbeing by examining the attributes associated with the constructs of hope (succeeding at their business goals despite challenges), efficacy (building their business confidence), resilience (how challenges have been met and overcome), and optimism (the ways in which they approach and direct current and future business activities with positive expectancy). These questions are included in the Appendix. Tenants were also asked about the role of incubator managers and staff in delivering activities and services at the incubator that supported tenants, their wellbeing and how this may have contributed to, and supported their business. The interview questions were developed by the researchers and broadly informed by previous research (i.e., Al-Mubaraki & Busler, 2010; Albort-Morant & Orghazi, 2016; Cohen, 2013; Gerlach & Brem, 2015; Kemp, 2013; Monsson & Jørgensen, 2016; Roseira et al., 2014; Schwartz & Hornych, 2010; Tavoletti, 2013).

Procedure

Emails about the research were sent to peak incubator associations (n = 31) in 23 countries including Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, The Netherlands, UK, USA. The peak incubator associations were identified from a) publicly accessible directories, b) public resources available from the International Business Innovation Association website, and c) a search of the internet.

Emails about the research were also sent to individual incubators (n = 822) located in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, USA. A database for individual incubators was compiled by the lead researcher using publicly accessible directories and internet searches. Individual incubators and peak organizations were only contacted if their website was written in English.

The email invitations included information about the research and requested assistance in contacting incubator managers and incubator tenants. Managers and tenants were invited to participate in an online survey. At the conclusion of each survey, tenants and managers were invited to participate in an interview. A convenience sample was adopted for this study: the inclusion criteria for participants were being aged 18 years or older and being employed at/being a tenant located in a business incubator.

Semi-structure, in-depth interviews were conducted either in person (n = 3), via telephone (n = 35), or using video-enable software such as Skype for Business (n = 2). Interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim as written documents for coding and analysis. The average duration of interviews was 51.65 minutes for incubator managers and 55.66 minutes for incubator tenants.

Ethics approval was granted from a University Human Research Ethics Committee. Written and/or verbal consent (recorded) was obtained for all participants completing the interviews.

Qualitative data analysis

Interview transcripts were coded to enhance the manageability of the raw text and to identify patterns in the data (such as similarities or differences in the ideas presented), thus enabling data to be categorized for greater meaning (Saldana, 2016). Coding also provided the foundation from which constructs were developed from the theoretical narrative (Auerbach & Silverstein, 2003). The procedure for coding was consistent with the methods outlined by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003). This approach shares similarities with structural coding methods where data is coded to detect significant phrases or content in the interviews that align with the research areas under examination. This approach to coding is also well-suited for semi-structured methods of data collection and hypothesis testing (Saldana, 2016). The interview transcripts, and subsequent themes, were coded separately for managers and tenants.

Results

Twenty-eight directors, managers or CEOs at incubators² (males, n = 16; females, n = 12) located in the USA (n = 15), UK (n = 6), Australia (n = 5), Ireland (n = 1), and New Zealand (n = 1), participated in interviews. Interviews were also conducted with 12 tenants (males, n = 5; females, n = 7) from incubators located in Australia (n = 6), the USA (n = 4) and the UK (n = 2).

A total of ten themes were identified following separate analyses of the manager and tenant interview data; these are summarized in Table 1. Each theme is associated with the delivery of services and support by incubator staff and the contribution this support had on tenants, personally and professionally.

Table 1. The themes identified from interviews with managers (n = 28) and tenant (n = 12) about the role and contribution of incubators and the supports and services provided to tenants aligned with the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Themes from manager interviews	Themes from tenant interviews
Goal focused (Hope) Problem-solving the challenges (Hope) Confidence (Efficacy) Facilitating introductions and connections (Resilience) Mentoring-advice (Optimism)	Approaching goals (Hope) Addressing challenges (Hope) Gaining business and self-confidence (Efficacy) Being resilient (Resilience) Staff support (Optimism)

The themes offer evidence of managers supporting tenants’ hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. The variation in themes between managers and tenants reflects their perspectives about incubators based upon their different roles within the incubator, with the data having been themed to the constructs themselves. These include:

• HOPE: Four themes including ‘goal focused’ and ‘problem-solving the challenges’, and ‘approaching goals’ and ‘addressing challenges’ support tenants’ goal development, despite challenges, and are representative of the attributes aligned to the construct of hope;

• EFFICACY: Two themes including ‘confidence’ and ‘gaining business and self-confidence’, support tenants’ confidence and share similarities with the attributes associated with the construct of efficacy;

• RESILIENCE: Two themes ‘being resilient’ and ‘facilitating introductions and connections’ support tenants to draw upon resources (assets) to overcome challenges and shares similarities with the attributes associated with the construct of resilience;

• OPTIMISM: Two themes including ‘mentoring-advice’ and ‘staff support’ build tenants’ positive expectancy and share similarities with the attributes aligned with the construct of optimism.

A detailed description of the variant themes is presented in Table 2 (managers) and Table 3 (tenants). Representative quotes from managers and tenants provide evidence drawing upon the narrative experiences from tenants and managers about the incubator and the support and services received. Figure 2 depicts the themes identifed through this research, linked to the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism.

Table 2. The themes and representative quotes from manager interviews (n = 28), categorized into the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Construct	Theme	Representative quotes from managers
HOPE	Goal focused: In this theme, managers described observing tenants to identify and approach their goals. The majority of managers (82%) implemented various techniques to assist tenants to identify their goals and to move towards these. The methods for facilitating goal setting and achievement included formal and informal advice-giving and ‘training’ tenants to approach their business goals. Establishing strong networks by connecting tenants with other incubator tenants and alumni that have successfully achieved their goals, is another method that managers have used to support tenants to approach their goals. Just under a third (29%) of managers had observed and described tenants’ goal success in association with their business success and is aligned with increases in the number of employees at a tenant business, and, when tenants’ businesses thrived, of tenents graduating from the incubator into larger premises.	So helping them establish their goals, because I had 30 plus years’ experience in the corporate world before I got into this side of things, and so I have that business background that I can help them get to. ‘What are your goals? What are your financial goals? What do you want to get from this company?’ These are questions that many entrepreneurs have asked themselves in the early stages, then in the later stages it's much more around, ‘where do you want to take the company? Do you want to bring in some additional funding to accelerate your growth? If you do, what are you willing to give up with that?’. Success for us is can you see their clients grow from one to three to five people and upwards and when we see them taking on the first number of employees or procuring the deals with customers, that obviously is hugely powerful for us and is something that we would celebrate with them and celebrate with others in the building too. The idea that they learn to celebrate their goals and their wins. Well, you know, I think it’s being around other companies that are really driving the revenue and seeing what revenue success can look like. Seeing what tooling they can use to achieve revenue success. Seeing what marketing tools they can use, that they probably view as not being on their radar; not being affordable. Those are key steps that we help people identify with.
	Problem-solving the challenges: This theme captures managers’ perceptions about the challenges faced by incubator tenants. A key point, raised by the majority (79%) of managers is the range of techniques offered at incubators to assist tenants to realize, adjust and overcome the challenges they experience in their business. Frequently, this involves the provision of support, advice, and mentoring for tenants delivered by the incubator manager and staff and includes encouraging the realization of a problem or challenge. Just under half (43%) the managers commented that part of their role is to assist tenants to identify the range and types of challenges they will encounter as entrepreneurs. This includes exposing tenants to the realization of these challenges and assisting them to address these.	Yeah, I think what I would say is that we do our best to move obstacles and impediments out of their way. Whether that's just their own insecurity with being concerned that they don't know what to do, or whether it's saving them from spending money unnecessarily to get information that we can give to them. So it's just making the path to success easier and less complicated. We help them identify the challenges and identify what the resources are that they need to meet those challenges and then we would reach out through our network to help them find people who could help them and there’s a million ways you can do that. Well I mean we’ve got, as I have said, a lot of people who have walked in their (the tenants) shoes before and so, you know, we have 18 people on staff that they (the tenants) can regularly ask advice for when challenges are there.
EFFICACY	Confidence: The majority of managers commented on how incubator tenants had gained business confidence. Over half (57%) the managers commented on how confidence manifests in tenants. They identify that tenants’ confidence is fostered by starting their business within the incubator; within a professional and supportive environment. The support that tenants receive from the incubator staff, fosters tenants’ self-confidence, enabling some tenants to expand their business focus and develop their business capabilities.	It’s not unusual, if you’ve got an early-stage entrepreneur, we’ll try and put them in contact with some of our more experienced entrepreneurs for an informal conversation. Part of that is actually helping them understand the journey, from somebody who is one of their peers, and actually help them understand what are some of the risks around the business that they need to be tackling. But also, I think, giving them the confidence that they can find their way through all of this and to start the development. All of those things are things that we add, allows them to have the confidence that they are doing the best thing possible for their physical business; for the commercial business. Which then allows them to have the confidence to take some risks because they know exactly what’s happening with their money. I think it is less around feel good confidence and more around commercial confidence.
RESILIENCE	Facilitating introductions and connections: In this theme, about two thirds of managers described their role, and that of the incubator staff, as integral in facilitating introductions and connections between tenants inside the incubator and facilitating new contacts, resources, and networks for tenants outside of the incubator. These opportunities lead to mutual benefit for tenants, the incubator, and the local community. It offers a conduit between tenants and other tenants, businesses, organizations, and to different skill sets. Managers described their role in building the internal and external networks in terms of facilitating and supporting tenants to develop their resources which can assist with avoiding or buffering current/future risks. These descriptions share similarities with methods that support resilience by building tenants’ assets that can aid and buffer against risk.	We have been structured, we sort of have a big brother arrangement, sort of. I have a new IT business for example, come in here, and we don’t have a lot of IT because they generally go to the uni or whatever, but say IT, and we’ve got a long-term IT person in here. We might hook them up and say ‘Jane’s new. She’s just starting out in her business, you’ve been doing it for a long time, Stella, I thought I’d introduce the two of you. Maybe you could have a catch up, run ideas past each other?’ … and generally you get ‘no worries’. … we really serve as a connector. More often than not I have somebody coming to me saying ‘I have this problem I need this resource can you help me find this resource?’ So we connect them with the resources they need to keep them moving forward. That's probably one of the biggest things because that network gets pretty big, pretty fast with all the connections we have from < name of incubator >  to City and State resources. We are plugged into all of those things and we know a lot of people that they don’t. Again, it’s to just keep expanding opportunities, the networking opportunities for the clients here with our alumni. We also connect with the chamber in the region and our industry partners in the region. Where we are based in, the town is a suburb of the < name of city > . So, we are also, we are our own town, if you know what I mean, with 90,000 people, so we have a very close collaboration with a lot of industry and the chamber, locally, as well, so we engage with them as much as possible, too.
OPTIMISM	Mentoring-advice: Managers (86%) described the mentoring, advice, and coaching they provided to tenants which was prompted, on occasion, by issues tenants were experiencing. Half (54%) the managers referred to a range of formal and informal methods used to mentor and offer advice to tenants. For half the managers, personal support and empathy underpins the advice and mentoring they offer tenants. This approach appears particularly important for tenants experiencing issues in their business. Sometimes the support and advice offered is personal, rather than business-related. For some managers (18%), developing a trusted relationship with tenants is integral to the mentoring and advice they offer. A third of managers suggested that their previous entrepreneurial or business experience is an advantage in their role and, in some cases, is considered an important pre-requisite when working with incubator tenants thus ensuring that tenants receive appropriate support and informed advice. These are examples of managers assisting tenants to developing their expectancies linked to their goals that can propel them towards success within their business.	So a classic example: A serial entrepreneur may know the equity landscape extremely well. We can’t help them with anything there, they’ve got established networks, they know who they would go to for their investment but they may know nothing about grant funding. And actually when they’ve looked at it in the past they’ve put it in the ‘too difficult to do’ box and not pursued it. So, part of our work might be saying ‘well actually let’s go back around the loop to see if there is an opportunity to usefully use that, sensibly use it. Who are the people that actually might be able to hold your hand through the process?. I suppose it's more a holistic understanding of supporting - I suppose it's a difficult one to explain, but I suppose it's those things that give people, or give tenants the support that they need to move through with their business, but it can be personal support, but also obviously, we talk, we focus quite heavily on the business support, but things that actually support the tenant to move through their business if it … in some ways it may be the personal aspects, things that we have talked about a little bit already, but giving them, providing them with the support or the confidence to move through, or in instances where perhaps people are challenged with their business and can't move forward with that. One of the big things within our organization - so, anyone who holds those key roles - it's important that we've actually operated a small business ourselves.

Table 3. The themes and representative quotes from tenant interviews (n = 12) categorized into the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Construct	Theme	Representative quotes from tenants
HOPE	Approaching goals: All but one of the tenants interviewed (92%) described how the incubator staff had aided their business goals. This support usually comprised new, alternative and/or practical methods that directly, or indirectly, supported tenants’ business goals and growth. More than half the tenants (58%) also described how specific incubator supports and services had assisted them to develop their business skills. This appears to assist tenants in ways such as consolidating or further developing their knowledge as they approached their goals.	Another thing they do (the staff at the incubator) is help people figure out what, like the mission of the company, help with financial goals, account goals. So they help them from what it takes to run a business, not just providing space but what I think is the more valuable things … they give these incubating companies all the non-physical expertise and knowledge that they need to have to grow their business. My original motivation (for moving into the incubator) was really just about the facilities and having permission. Knowing what I know now, there’s a lot more to it. In particular, I found that the business mentoring that is provided has really been quite essential for us to succeed. Not so much in the laboratory but in terms of being able to capitalize on our successes.  … there was a business that was offering to help some of the businesses in the incubator to get their policies right, get their contracts right, giving free advice. They (the incubator) do that sort of thing which then helps the businesses in the incubator to grow.
	Addressing challenges: Over half the tenants (58%) reported potential challenges in their business but these had been pre-empted by the services and supports provided, and often facilitated by the incubator staff. A quarter of tenants referred to specific challenges they, or other tenants, had experienced with their business and how the incubator staff had enabled them to resolve their problems and to continue progressing their business, and therefore business goals.	Yes, getting advice was really important during that time because I was worried that I would be going down a legal path with the whole thing. It didn’t go down that path but being prepared for that and knowing what I had to be careful of, prior to actually [describes specific action], I would never have known all those things had I not had the other community members here and the (incubator) staff, management here I would never know that … I would have walked into a minefield and blown up had I not been super careful and I was only careful because I had all the advice here. So that was one of the biggest hurdles I got through because of being here. They (the incubator staff) helped me quite a bit with the application side of things, I guess. Pointing me in the right direction, introducing me to other people who may be of benefit to my business and that sort of stuff. If I have a specific need, I go to these people and talk to them and they try to connect me with someone through the network that could help.
EFFICACY	Gaining business and self-confidence: Tenants frequently described the benefits of, and the methods in which the incubator staff had assisted in building their confidence. For all but one tenant (92%), their confidence was broadly attributed to the incubator and, more specifically, the incubator staff and other tenants. Gaining confidence was associated with self confidence and motivation, including the confidence to meet challenges, and of gaining business independence.	I was confident about my skills but I didn’t know how I was going to run the money side of it … so I needed to feel more comfortable about the small business model that I had, at that time, the manager < name of incubator manager > running this place and he was just brilliant as a mentor. I would say to him, just in passing, in the passageway, and I would say to < name of manger > ‘I’ve got to send out a quote’ and he would say ‘well send it out’ and I would say ‘I hate sending quotes’ and he would assist me to see that there was nothing wrong with that. They (the incubator) obviously want you to succeed and in the early stages of a business you need that, you need that push. For me personally, I needed that push and that constant bombardment of information because I needed a kick and a head start and they definitely provided that quite well.
RESILIENCE	Being resilient: Half the tenants indicated that the incubator staff (and the actions and activities pre-empted by the staff) had assisted them to overcome problems and challenges in their business. Tenants referred both implicitly and explicitly to building their capabilities with their business that had occurred as a direct or indirect result of the support they received from staff at the incubator. The provision of support given by staff at the incubator was frequently identified as integral to the assistance tenants received.	If I have a specific need, I go to these people (the incubator staff) and talk to them and they try to connect me with someone through the network that could help. They (the incubator staff) helped me quite a bit with the application side of things, I guess. Pointing me in the right direction, introducing me to other people who may be of benefit to my business and that sort of stuff. (About the incubator): It builds that resilience that builds that confidence that then allows you to shoulder skills. Better ability to problem solve and problem solve creatively and to take chances with your business that can … I think now particularly the way the economy is, and the way our social-digital-everything is changing and changing so quickly, people need to take risks so they can future proof.
OPTIMISM	Staff support: This theme encompasses the insights and perspectives that tenants have about the incubator staff. The assistance tenants received from incubator staff can be categorized into broad and specific support, and personal and professional support. Over half (58%) the tenants reported that staff at their incubator had been instrumental in providing mentoring, and in offering other, important, unsolicited advice about their business, including acting as a ‘sounding board’ and boosting tenants’ confidence as they progress their business. Tenants identified that incubator staff provided assistance when they had encountered a business problem. For some tenants, the advice of the incubator staff member had enabled them to remain focused on their business.	Those two people (senior staff at the incubator), just listen to what I am doing and offer alternatives or suggestions or experiences or putting me in touch with other people. That can address whatever concerns I have. Maybe this is turning out to be a commercial for those two guys. The staff is probably the key to the success of an incubating company. Sometimes if you have a problem, you don’t know who the best person is to talk to so he (the incubator manager) is good at narrowing that down, plus he has so many contacts and experience that he can give you what he feels isn’t going to waste your time or your trust. Knowing the CEO and articulating what I do with him, on my business, valuing that input and him saying ‘I think you need to talk to X who is on the other side of the building’. That to me has been quite valuable. One important thing about this incubator is that the heads of the incubator were really walking the walk....So, I am not sure if I could point to a specific way it made a difference but they were certainly leading by example.

Figure 2. Themes from interviews linked to the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Discussion

Research was conducted to examine whether managers support tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing, through the constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. The research provides evidence that managers perform an important role by providing substantive support to tenants. Their reach is expansive and the assistance they provide is often holistic, supporting tenants professionally and personally, with their business. The narrative insights from interviews with managers and tenants consistently demonstrate the breadth of the interactions between managers and tenants, highlighting the practical business support, assistance and advice offered which also supports tenants’ psychological wellbeing, hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. This research confirms that the provision of managerial support at incubators contributes to tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing.

The breadth of management support for tenants

The qualitative data consistently demonstrates the role of managers and the impact they have on tenants. Managers deliver support to tenants which is wide-ranging, comprising professional advice to practical solutions and delivered as mentoring and advice or through the sharing of skills. They also provide assistance with establishing contacts and networks to enable tenant businesses to flourish. The narrative experiences of tenants and managers in the themes of ‘staff support’ and ‘mentoring-advice’ offer consistent insights that support this finding, while also highlighting that the support delivered to tenants by managers is nuanced to meet the unique needs of tenants.

The provision of advice and support delivered by managers is thus tailored to tenants’ individual business needs and their own unique circumstances. Furthermore, the support from managers is informed, personable and empathic indicating a deep level of consideration for tenants and their business needs. The role of incubator managers necessitates their support and guidance, both personally and professionally, to overcome the challenges the tenant is experiencing. This study corroborates previous research about the importance of establishing strong relationships between incubator managers and tenants (A. J. Ahmad & Ingle, 2011) that have the potential to have a significant impact within an incubator (Rice, 2002). The breadth of advice, the strength of the relationships established, and the demonstrated understanding and support delivered by managers to tenants are evident in each of the themes identified in this research.

Tenants’ narrative experiences indicate that this support is well received and valued. This finding is consistent with the published literature (e.g. Apa et al., 2017; Bruneel et al., 2012; Monsson & Jørgensen, 2016; Redondo & Camarero, 2017) highlighting that incubator managers are integral in providing assistance to tenants and their businesses which includes the provision of support and advice for business development and growth. Their interactions with tenants, the individuality of the advice, and the consideration and support provided to tenants are consistent with published research evidence.

However, there is a notable expansion to knowledge identified in the present study: that of the ubiquitous role and influence of managers in supporting tenants’ positive psychological needs. The present research shows a clear relationship between managers and tenants, which supports the constructs that constitute positive psychological wellbeing, specifically hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. This area of research has received very little attention in the published literature to date.

Tenants’ hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism

The thematic evidence suggests the breadth of the support delivered directly and indirectly by managers, is addressing tenants’ psychological wellbeing and is empowering tenants in their business. Managers consistently provide tenants with support and services that guide them to approach and achieve their business goals, to be confident and remain realistic and positive, to address challenges, and to develop assets and resources that aid them and their businesses. These are the building blocks that comprise the important psychological constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Developing and enhancing these constructs are targeted through the strategies that managers adopt when interacting with and supporting tenants.

The thematic evidence demonstrates that managers guide, advise, and support tenants to remain focused on, and to achieve, their business goals despite challenges as exemplified in the themes ‘approaching goals’ and of being ‘goal focused’ ‘problem-solving the challenges’ and ‘addressing challenges’. These themes are aligned with the attributes associated with the construct of hope and of planning a course of action, or pathways that support goal achievement while avoiding or directly addressing barriers that can prevent goal achievement (Luthans, 2002; Luthans et al., 2004; Snyder, 2000).

The consistent methods employed by incubator managers to empower tenants’ to be confident in themselves and their business, provides further evidence of the contribution of managers in supporting the psychological needs of tenants. The themes ‘gaining business and self-confidence’ and ‘confidence’ share similarities with the attributes associated with the positive psychological construct of efficacy. This includes influencing and directing an individual towards successful outcomes and is synonymous with confidence and the commitment in one’s abilities to direct and action change, and control events for a desired outcome (Bandura, 1993; Luthans et al., 2015).

Resilience enables an individual to positively adapt to adverse circumstances that optimize personal outcomes while utilising assets that can provide protection in response to adversity (Garcia-Dia et al., 2013; Masten, 2014). The theme ‘being resilient’ provides evidence that incubator managers actively support and encourage tenants to be resilient particularly when faced with challenges and problems. The provision of staff support is an asset that tenants can draw upon for assistance with overcoming difficulties in their business. The theme ‘facilitating introductions and connections’ offers further evidence of the support of staff in building tenants’ connections, both within the incubator and with other tenants, and to businesses that are external to the incubator. Establishing the connections for tenants through these networks further strengthens the resources and assets (which include other tenants and managers/staff at incubators) that tenants can then draw upon and access. This provides tenants with assets, such as colleagues and connections to peers, that can assist with, or act as a buffer when challenges arise. Resilience is particularly important for incubator tenants as they navigate the challenges of a new business, providing a mechanism to assist them in responding positively to the challenges they are experiencing.

Managers provide tenants with advice and support, through mentoring and coaching, that engenders a sense of positivity and optimism for tenants and their businesses. The themes ‘staff support’ and ‘mentoring-advice’ describe similarities consistent with the construct of optimism and an expectation for success which directs an individual towards their goals despite inevitable challenges (Carver et al., 2010).

These findings demonstrate that incubator managers are providing substantial support, addressing the business and wellbeing needs of tenants through their hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. These four constructs lead to positive behaviours and attitudes within organizational settings. Evidence shows that these constructs manifest in various ways, including goal achievement (Friend et al., 2016) and positive workplace performance, commitment, and satisfaction (e.g. Reichard et al., 2013; Youssef & Luthans, 2007), effective goal setting and job satisfaction (Luthans et al., 2015), of managing challenging, high-demand work settings (Luthans et al., 2015; McGarry et al., 2013) and having elevated motivation (Luthans, 2002) and goal persistence (Carver et al., 2010; Monzani et al., 2015).

Collectively, the research evidence highlights that incubator staff are influential in the positive psychological development of tenants. This finding extends the existing understanding of the importance of incubators in supporting new business owners. Only a handful of previous studies have made connections between psychological constructs and tenants at incubators (e.g. Baluku et al., 2016; Ford, 2015) with this research now offering deeper insights into the substantive, holistic role of incubator managers.

This research offers important new insights demonstrating that incubator managers offer tenants greater support, beyond that which is centred solely on their business. The breadth of support delivered by managers is far-reaching, providing an essential and albeit lesser recognized role of (a) actively supporting tenants to approach their goals and provide assistance to overcome challenges to goal approach (hope), (b) actively developing tenants’ confidence (efficacy) in themselves, (c) providing connections with other tenants and businesses who then provide support and resources to guide tenants when they experience challenges (resilience), and (d) enabling positivity and expectation in tenants (optimism) as they progress their business.

Entrepreneurs and new businesses face unique challenges associated with contextual and situational factors (Zahra et al., 2014) and as such, the support for fostering these positive psychological constructs may provide the scaffolding that protects and supports tenants’ holistic wellbeing, including their psychological wellbeing. In constructed environments such as business incubators, which have been established to support and foster entrepreneurship and new businesses, there is much potential for managers to continue to foster these constructs in tenants to maximize their benefits.

Industry implications

This research highlights that incubator managers are instrumental in supporting tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing. It is therefore essential that greater provision and access to information is given to managers to optimize the support they provide to tenants. Incubator managers must continue to provide the support that they are already effectively delivering to tenants but with the incorporation of additional methods that will extend the assistance they provide tenants to approach goals, to have the ability to overcome challenges, to remain positive, and to draw upon their assets to overcome problems and go beyond. Training to support managers to enable them to continue to foster and expand the support they provide tenants, and which addresses tenants’ business as well as psychological wellbeing, is recommended.

The evidence from this study emphasizes that the role of incubator managers is diverse, complex, and expansive and involves close and strong interactions with tenants (and others internal and external to the incubator), to meet and address their needs. The importance of the manager-tenant interactions necessitates greater recognition of the role that incubator managers assume, and the necessity for time preservation to ensure they can effectively interact with tenants to support their business and psychological needs.

There is much potential for implementing a consistent and integrated model of support at all incubators that is promoted throughout the industry. This would recognize the significant contribution of managers in supporting tenants’ and optimising their holistic needs for business success. This has the potential to expand the broader outcomes linked to success that many of today’s incubators strive for, including enhanced economic development, jobs growth, skills creation, and network building (Ayatse, Kwahar, & Iyorsuun, 2017; Isabelle, 2013; Tang, Baskaran, Pancholi, & Lu, 2013; Tavoletti, 2013).

Many of the managers in this study had previous entrepreneurial and business experience. This was identified in the narrative reflections indicating that this previous experience brings advantages to the manager role at incubators. This knowledge informs and guides the support and advice they provide tenants. This is consistent with previous research whereby managers with entrepreneurial experience have greater influence and have the capacity to effect personal and business assistance, and networking for tenant-businesses (Redondo & Camarero, 2017).

Indeed, the importance attributed to establishing tenant networking and trusted relationships, both within and external to the incubator, is identified in this study. While past research attests to the value of networking for tenants at incubators (e.g. Bergek & Norrman, 2008; Scillitoe & Chakrabarti, 2005), this research provides evidence that networking can facilitate hope by developing and supporting tenants’ business goals. Building connections within and external to the incubator may also assist in supporting tenants’ resilience by establishing the connections and assets that may help buffer challenges that tenants may experience.

Likewise, establishing trusted relationships is essential to the support delivered by managers to tenants. Generating trust at incubators is necessary and important for healthy-functioning incubators but in this study, trust contributes to the wellbeing of tenants. Developing trust within the incubator is essential in these deeply constructed settings in which there is potential for conflict, suspicion, and distrust to occur between tenants and where tenants may consider other tenants as potential or actual competition, especially when they share similar business markets (McAdam & Marlow, 2007). The managers’ role is thus essential in establishing trust and generating strong, mutually supportive and cohesive networks between incubator tenants (e.g. Schwartz & Hornych, 2010; Tottenham & Sten, 2005).

It is therefore recommended that previous entrepreneurial and business experience is a pre-requisite of business incubator managers and senior incubator staff. Likewise, the personal qualities and attributes of managers in their interactions with tenants - that includes showing respect, empathy, and facilitating trust - should be a pre-requisite when selecting and employing managers and support staff at incubators. Similarly, in recognition of the importance and breadth of the role that incubator managers provide to tenants’ in supporting their positive psychological wellbeing, it is recommended that these duties are formally and closely aligned with the support and activities that promote tenant’s hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

Limitations and future research

Further research is now required to explore the benefits of incubators on tenants’ positive psychological development. Managers play an integral role at incubators in supporting tenants’ wellbeing. Further examination to determine the extent of this relationship, and to identify the most valued styles and methods for delivering this support to tenants is required. The present findings offer significant new insights but now require verification and expansion to identify other potential incubator factors that enhance or diminish tenants’ psychological wellbeing.

Likewise, future research should also explore the relationship between tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing and their potential business success. Research could be undertaken to examine tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing, as fostered through the incubator, and the impact on small business performance and success using measures that include business revenue, jobs creation, and innovation outputs (e.g. Lukeš et al., 2019; Sedita et al., 2019). This research would complement and extend the present findings, documenting the impact of tenants’ positive psychology on the success, growth and longevity of new and small businesses located within incubators.

In this study, convenience sampling was adopted and all tenants and managers from any incubator were included in the study, irrespective of variations in the composition of incubators and the countries from which they originate. The differences and similarities between incubators were not explicitly examined in the research. It is therefore recommended that future research further explores the characteristics of incubators to identify if this influences the level and scope of support provided to tenants.

The qualitative research design adopted in this research deviates from the traditional, quantitative research approaches frequently used when examining incubators. Interviews provide an important mechanism for collecting in-depth narratives from incubator tenants and managers about their experiences, providing the foundation for deeper understanding and learning. This approach is recommended for future research, alone or in tandem with quantitative methods, to further examine the relationships between managers and tenants in supporting wellbeing.

Finally, hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism are the building blocks for psychological capital; a higher-order construct enabling individuals to develop and thrive as they move, in a dynamic and adaptable way, towards their desired outcomes, enabling them to assess, respond to, and overcome the challenges that they will inevitably experience (Avey et al., 2010). Exploring the potential relationship between psychological capital, managers and tenants at incubators necessitates an important step in extending entrepreneurial research.

Conclusion

This study offers new evidence that incubator managers are supporting tenants’ positive psychological wellbeing. Interviews with managers and tenants provide detailed, narrative insights that managers are effectively interacting with and supporting tenants. Importantly the study demonstrates the contribution of incubator managers in fostering tenants’ approaches to their goals (hope), their confidence in their business (efficacy), their ability to overcome and avoid negative challenges through the development and utilization of assets (resilience) and being realistic and positive in their approach to their business (optimism). The evidence offers new insights into the importance of the incubator manager during their interactions with tenants. The findings have broad implications for the sector and in operationalising the role of managers particularly in preserving and fostering the important daily interactions they have with tenants which support their business and psychological wellbeing.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the incubator managers and tenants who participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend and RTP Fee-Offset Scholarship through Federation University Australia; Additional funding to support this research was provided by Melton City Council, the Western Business Accelerator and Centre for Excellence and the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Federation University Australia.

Notes

1 For this research, tenants refers to participants of business incubator programs, including new business owners, and entrepreneurs. In the USA, tenants are often referred to as incubatees.

2 While participants were employed in roles at incubators with different titles, the collective term ‘manager’ will continue to be used, reflecting the seniority in the roles that they hold at incubators.

Appendix

Questions in the interview schedules (tenants; managers) that examine the positive psychological constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism

Table

Construct	Questions for managers	Questions for tenants
Hope: Being focused on, progressing, and succeeding at their business goals despite challenges.	What do you perceive is the role of incubator services in supporting tenants to identify and achieve their business goals? What role do incubators have in guiding tenants towards their business goals and to remain focused on these goals? And to establish new business goals? How has this been facilitated at the incubator?	In what ways has the incubator supported you to identify and achieve your business-related goals? Has being in an incubator enabled you to succeed at your business goals and to remain focused on these goals, or establish new business goals?
Efficacy: Having the confidence to adopt and implement steps towards successful outcomes.	What do you consider is the role of incubators in supporting and building tenants’ confidence in their own business development? Can you provide examples from your own experiences with working with tenants?	In what ways has your involvement with the business incubator influenced your confidence in your own business development?
Resilience: Overcoming challenges by drawing upon resources/assets for business and goal success.	To what extent should incubators influence how tenants’ approach and respond to challenges with their business? In what ways have tenants been supported by the incubator services to overcome these challenges?	Has being in an incubator influenced the way you respond to difficulties and challenges with your business? In what ways have you been supported to overcome these challenges?
Optimism: Having a positive approach that directs current and future business activities for success.	What is the role of business incubators to guide tenants with their current (and future) business activities and goals? Please explain. Are there particular services at the incubator that influence this?	Has being in a business incubator influenced the approach and directions towards your current (and future) business activities?