The innovation incubator, university business incubator and technology transfer strategy: The case of Thailand

This study reviews the role of the innovation incubator and university business incubator (UBI) in supporting the entrepreneurial development in Thailand. The university business incubator (UBI) is defined in this paper as an incubator set up by the university to provide office space, equipment, mentoring services as well as other administrative supports to assist the formation of new ventures). In particular, the paper compares the operation of the university business incubators (UBIs) and technology incubators to understand their technology transfer strategies. The analyses, based on the Triple Helix model, also include the government policies to support innovation commercialization in Thailand. The study examines case studies of leading university business incubators (UBIs) (Mahidol University, Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi) and science and technology incubators of the National Science and Technology Agency (NSTDA) and the National Innovation Agency (NIA). The results have shown that the incubation program is one of the major policy mechanisms to support innovation and suggested that UBIs should act as an intermediary between the spheres of university and industry to provide interactive linkages and promote effective utilization of university research. The empirical study provides insightful implications on the move towards the entrepreneurial university and the dynamics of the Triple Helix system in stimulating innovation development and diffusion.