International business incubators as an intermediary for the export promotion of technology-based companies

To realize the capacities of Iranian technology-based companies in the global markets, there is an urgent need for networking between domestic capabilities and foreign opportunities. International Business Incubators are one of the focal players in creating such communication networks but there is still no proper understanding of their functions in a developing country like Iran. The purpose of this article is to extract the functions, position, and working space of export innovation centers as a hub or communication intermediary in the export network of high-tech companies. In this research, to pursue a multi-case study approach, three Iranian international innovation centers with extensive international experience are selected. By conducting in-depth interviews with 22 managers and experts related to these three centers, the main functions of export innovation centers are identified (the following three theoretical approaches extracted from the research background). By analyzing the categories and themes from the interviews, 11 organizing themes and 5 overarching themes of the role of export innovation centers are identified, which are: export coaching, clustering of companies, weak ties, strong ties, and strategic protection. These roles are presented in a schematic model along with a description of the working space of growth centers and their communication network for export. Also, by evaluating the level of fulfillment of the above roles in three centers, three levels of maturity, growing, foundation, and initiator for an export innovation center are suggested, so that the path of international development towards growth and innovation centers in the country will become clearer.