Abstract
We study the multifaceted nature and value of informal peer support networks in an incubator. Unlike the common focus on incubatees as resource receivers (who capture value through networking), we also study when incubated entrepreneurs become providers (who create value for other incubatees) of knowledge and referrals. Our exploratory study helps to explain heterogeneity in incubatees’ networking by disentangling multiple sources of uncertainty that drive these behaviors. We find that founder experience and team size, venture development stage, and market dynamism trigger distinct patterns of “takers” and “givers” in peer support networks. It also appears that time matters: incubatees exhibit different networking actions and outcomes depending on their incubation tenure.