A cross-national qualitative study on how incubation hubs in Norway and South Africa enable customer-centric innovation in startups

Abstract

This study explores how incubation hubs promote customer-centric innovation in startups, comparing ecosystems in Norway and South Africa. Despite the global focus on customer-centricity as a key factor in startup success, a significant gap remains in understanding how national contexts influence incubation support for this approach. Using a qualitative, interpretivist framework, the research gathered detailed empirical data through 23 semi-structured interviews with startup founders, incubation managers, and other ecosystem players from both countries. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings reveal a fundamental dichotomy in incubation models, conceptualised in Norway versus South Africa. In the stable, well-funded Norwegian ecosystem, hubs act as conductors, providing curated network access and fostering a methodological push for customer validation. Conversely, in the resource-constrained South African context, incubation hubs must actively intervene by providing foundational infrastructure and conducting direct, de-risked market testing to overcome systemic barriers. A key emerging finding is the identification of a survivalist cognitive framework among South African entrepreneurs, which prioritises immediate, small-scale opportunities over long-term, scalable, customer-centric strategies, thereby creating a cycle of precarity that hubs must also address. The study concludes that the national innovation ecosystem casts a decisive shadow, determining not only the resources available but also the fundamental logic and challenges of incubation support. The research contributes to theory by proposing a novel comparative framework of incubation models and introducing the concept of the survival mindset as a key cultural-cognitive barrier in emerging economies. For practitioners and policymakers, it underscores that practical incubation cannot be a one-size-fits-all import. However, it must be consciously designed to address specific ecosystemic constraints, including the need for patient capital, practitioner-led management, and strategies to overcome deeply ingrained survivalist mindsets.