Innovation Infrastructure and Business Incubators as Drivers of Regional Development

The article examines the problem of varying effectiveness of business incubators: with the same amount of investment, regions achieve different results. This indicates that the success of incubation depends not on individual factors, but on their combination. The paper formulates and tests the hypothesis of a “two-layer core” of effective incubation. It consists of university–industry linkages and digital services, built upon a financial–infrastructural “framework.” Additional elements, such as mentoring and employment metrics, reinforce the core, while the level of a region’s communication connectivity plays the role of a moderator. The empirical part is based on an analysis of cases from 2015–2024 and combines univariate effect assessments, regularized modeling, and configurational analysis. The convergence of results across different methods confirms the stability of the “core” and the limited independent role of the “framework.” As a result, a minimal architecture of incubation programs is proposed, which reduces the risk of formality and increases the chances of graduates’ market success.