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Entrepreneurship is frequently linked together with aspects of economic growth and development. In the last 40 years, an increasing number of incubators and service providers have been created to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation. However, in the increasingly globalized and digitalized world, few virtual and digital initiatives have successfully been studied to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurship. This study aims to understand further how digital and virtual products and services can aid entrepreneurs in venture creation and potentially add to an updated and broader understanding of the potential in a virtual incubator program. By looking at three categories of entrepreneurial support actors, traditional public incubators, private incubators, and digital service providers. 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain more in-depth knowledge of how they operate. More specifically, this study is conducted with actors that share the vision to assist startup in their initial phase and create a deeper understanding of what the incubator offers to startups and the possibility to adapt and improve their process using digital tools and external partnerships. Results indicate that the use of digital tools is varied. Incubators are leaning towards relying more on social media for reaching potential entrepreneurs and ideas, and further that a factor of validating every aspect of the startup is essential to promote success. The incubator mainly acts as a mediator of network, funding, coaching, and finding talents has during the COVID-19 pandemic moved most of their activities from physical to online. The issue of trust-building is, however, still prominent, and the incubators are looking for ways and tools to improve on this issue. Implications of this study have the potential to lower barriers to entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurial support becomes less dependent on their local ecosystem and geographical factors. Future research is encouraged to classify virtual incubators and a further look at specific cases and pursuit more longitudinal studies to fully understand the potential effects and implications. This study contributes to the field of incubators and entrepreneurial support and the ongoing digital paradigm shift.

Entrepreneurship and start-ups are important factors for economic growth and development. As the surrounding innovation ecosystem is becoming increasingly complex, it gets more difficult for entrepreneurs to find the right path. Incubators are important when it comes to facilitating and supporting new ventures. In this research, we conducted 19 semi-structured interviews of which five were held with public incubators, four with private incubators, nine with incubatees and one with Vinnova (a government authority that plays a huge part within the existence of public incubators) in order to gain an understanding of the interplay of the incubation process and the entrepreneurial process. As for analyzing the collected data we used a thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Throughout the coding process, we extracted the following three main topics: role of an incubator, incubation process and interplay. However, a distinction between public and private incubators was approved as applicable that determines the incubators’ purpose, objectives and operations. Our findings suggest that incubators play an important role in supporting and guiding the start-ups by transferring knowledge and asking the right questions as a fundament for the further entrepreneurial process. Continuous communication and expectation management are shown as crucial throughout the interplay of the two processes. Lastly, the disconnection from the incubatees should be done carefully, e.g. through a non-proactive aftercare.

Tidigare studier inom generationsväxlingar menar på att det finns skillnader mellan generationers värderingar och vad de prioriterar. En viktig faktor av det hela är att se till vad Generation Y blir motiverade av och hur HSB Stockholm Förvaltning bör arbeta med hur det ska få denna generation att stanna inom företaget. Studien syftar till att ge en ökad förståelse kring hur den valda fall organisationen, HSB Stockholm Förvaltning framgångsrikt ska hantera den pågående generationsväxlingen med hänsyn till hur de arbetar med incitament och motivation med syfte att medarbetare ska stanna inom organisationen. I denna kvalitativa fallstudie har intervjuer av semistrukturerad karaktär genomförts för att belysa studiens frågeställningar. Sammanfattningsvis är slutsatsen av studien att HSB Stockholm Förvaltnings arbete med incitament och motivation måste individualisera och i ännu högre utsträckning anpassas till de nya medarbetarnas behov, förutsättningar och önskemål. Organisationen bör särskilt se över Generation Y:s krav på utveckling och kompetensförsörjning. Organisationen bör även se till Generation Y:s mer påtagliga krav på företagets arbete med hållbarhet och etiska profil samt att medarbetare vill ha en större mening i sitt arbete Previous studies in generational changes mean that there are differences between generations values and what they prioritize. An important factor of the whole is to make sure what Generation Y is motivated by and how, as an employer, you should work on how to make this generation stay within the company. The aim of the study is to provide a better understanding of how the chosen case organization, HSB Stockholm Förvaltning, successfully manages the current generation change, taking into account how to work with incentives and motivation with the aim of employees staying within the organization. In this qualitative case study interviews of semistructured nature have been conducted to highlight the study's questions. The conclusion of the study is that the work of incentives and motivation by HSB Stockholm property management must individualize and to an even greater extent be adapted to the needs, prerequisites and wishes of the new employees. Particular attention should be paid to Generation Y's development and competence development requirements. The organization should also ensure Generation Y's more tangible requirements for the company's work with sustainability and ethical profile and that, as a co-workers, Generation Y’s requires a greater meaning in their work life.