Analysis and Comparison of the Key Perfprmance Indicators (KPIs) of Iranian Technology Incubators

Intrepreneurship and innovation are essential elements for the success of knowledge based economy development. In its commercialization phase, new technology based product, faces difficulties and uncertainties, because either the product or the market is unknown and undefined. During the past decades, incubators are appeared as tools to help strengthening small business performance, support young entrepreneurs and innovators, a response to the problem of unemployment and relation between government, university, and industry. On the other hand, key performance indicators are quantifiable measurements that reflect the critical success factors of organizations and identify future strategies and ways to measure progress toward those goals.   This article has been prepared as an attempt to introduce the reader to the role of key performance indicators in the performance measurement and success of incubators and compare and analyze the key performance indicators of five Iranian technology incubators. It consists of three parts: The first part is designed to give the reader an analytical and historical insight into science and technology parks and incubators of five Iranian technology incubators. The second part of the article, studies the process of identifying the adequate key performance indicators for performance measurement of Iranian technology incubators. In the final part, the main body of the article, the key performance indicators of five important technology incunators are compared and analyzed and recommendations are proposed to incubators' managers for better performance.