Mid Sweden University

This thesis embarks to explore how incubated firms in Sweden, specifically in the city of Sundsvall perceive their respective incubators’ intellectual capital. This is aimed to contribute a new viewpoint on intellectual capital possessed by the incubators from an in-depth approach. Furthermore, the study extends to investigate which is the most valued intellectual capital that incubated firms seek in different incubation types. This study applies multiple case studies approach with eight cases in total and two cases on the incubators. To support the study, semi-structured interview is used to obtain the data, in addition to researcher’s notes. The analysis of empirical data constitutes of two essential parts, firstly, the empirical findings are analyzed through thematic analysis which is followed by the summary of findings from each theme at the end based on the theoretical frameworks laid by previous literature. Thereafter, a cross-theoretical lens examination is conducted to observe and examine the findings emerged through thematic analysis. Our findings show that external relational capital plays the most vital role in intellectual capital value to the incubated firms. However, we further find that variation of external relational capital is more decisive than the quantity of external relations entity that an incubator possesses.