Institutional policy for managing a startup incubator at UNAH-Campus Comayagua: Proposal from the ARS

Introduction: In response to an increasingly competitive global environment, universities have taken on a fundamental role in promoting entrepreneurship. Within this context, university incubators are essential platforms for the creation of startups. However, the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)-Comayagua Campus lacks an institutional policy that would enable it to effectively manage an incubator of this type and foster student and community entrepreneurship in the central region of the country. Methodology: A quantitative approach was adopted and a survey was used as the main method for data collection, which was applied to twenty key managers on campus. For this purpose, Social Network Analysis was used with Pajek software, which allowed interactions to be visualized and specific metrics to be calculated. Results: Spearman's correlation test yielded a coefficient of 0.679, indicating a moderate positive correlation between institutional management and incubator performance. The p-value of 0.022 (p < 0.05) confirmed that this relationship is statistically significant, thus rejecting the null hypothesis. The analysis of the current internal network revealed a weak and fragmented structure, with interconnection limited to a small group of agents. In contrast, an ideal network model was proposed that integrates all relevant internal and external agents, such as department heads, the research area, financial institutions, and city halls. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that an institutional policy that prioritizes network inclusion and cohesion is essential to enhance the success of university incubators. The implementation of Social Network Analysis was crucial to identify structural deficiencies and provide a theoretical and practical framework to strengthen entrepreneurship initiatives.