Guidelines for Knowledge Construction in Incubators in the Context of Portugal

Abstract

The development of a country can be measured by its ability to innovate. One of the spaces that potentialize the construction of knowledge are the so-called innovation habitats, which are characterized by a great amount of knowledge assets. In this scenario of innovation, incubators stand out as the focus of this study, since they are spaces that potentialize the construction of knowledge. This construction is facilitated by the adoption of a management model. The incubators, known as incubators of ideas, sustain a technology-based enterprise in the early years of its life, and these provide new jobs that generate economic warming. Portugal is a country that is investing in measures to implement policies that promote economic growth. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to propose a model to verify the construction of knowledge in business incubators for generating successful innovative enterprises, systematically and repeatedly leveraging new jobs, and providing solutions to Portugal’s economic policy. For such purposes, the methodologies used were the integrative review of the literature using the Scopus database, the analysis of regulations and international and national documents, and data collection from Brazilian and Portuguese incubators. As a result, CELTA (Business Center for Advanced Technologies) is presented—a model for verification of knowledge construction in incubators—that promotes the incubator’s ability to prospect and select good ideas in a successful manner and finally turn them into successful and profitable ventures. This model is built around five axes—entrepreneur, capital, management, market, and technology—and 21 guidelines. It can serve as a reference to verify the maturity of knowledge in incubators and other spaces recognized as innovation habitats.