Benedict Seiferlein, Oliver Gernsheimer, Dominik K. Kanbach

• Corporate incubators are a phenomenon of increasing relevance to elicit business model innovation (BMI) within large firms. They equip talented employees with entrepreneurial competencies (ECs) to identify, build, and pursue new ventures. However, their specific approach in developing ECs conducive to BMI has been understudied so far. Based on an in-depth case study at Audi Denkwerkstatt, one of Germany’s most successful corporate incubators in BMI, we investigate how ECs emerge along the incubation process. Specifically, our study suggests four distinct levers facilitating EC development: 1) a dedicated team of venture developers, coaching and guiding the intrapreneurs; 2) friendly internal coopetition among the intrapreneurs, sparking positive tension and higher performance; 3) co-living, nurturing continuous creative exchange, team intimacy, and trust; 4) co-working and early partnering in the start-up ecosystem. Our findings underline the importance of corporate incubators in developing ECs to effectuate BMI in the automotive industry.