University Business Incubators as Catalysts for SBMC Readiness: A Bibliometric and Multi-Stakeholder Survey Analysis

Abstract

The convergence of entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the development of startup ecosystems within higher education institutions. University business incubators play a strategic role in encouraging the development of startups that are not solely profit-oriented but also sustainability-oriented through the integration of sustainable business models and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the conceptual link between university business incubators, sustainable business models, and the SDGs remains underexplored comprehensively in the literature. This research aims to address three main focuses: identifying trends and patterns in conceptual linkages in the literature, analyzing the level of interest and readiness for sustainability-based startup development, and classifying potential business sectors. To achieve these objectives, this research uses a quantitative approach combining bibliometric analysis and a descriptive survey. Bibliometric analysis was used to map the research landscape through visualization of keyword co-occurrence, while the survey was used to describe empirical conditions related to respondent interest and readiness, as well as trends in proposed business sectors. The results indicate a growing link between business incubators, university-based entrepreneurship, and sustainability, but the implementation of sustainable business models remains suboptimal. Thus, this study offers a state of the art in the form of an integration of bibliometric analysis and empirical data in examining the role of university business incubators, thereby providing a new contribution in developing a more adaptive incubation strategy oriented towards achieving the SDGs.