CAVALCANTE, Fernando Luiz Nobret. Start! Up? O arranque empreendedor do capitalismo informacional. 2015. 381f. - Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza (CE), 2015. / Submitted by Gustavo Daher (gdaherufc@hotmail.com) on 2016-10-10T16:13:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_dis_flncavalcante.pdf: 5148966 bytes, checksum: 57ed2d52c836576ef91e50a7ba65c587 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-10-11T14:34:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_dis_flncavalcante.pdf: 5148966 bytes, checksum: 57ed2d52c836576ef91e50a7ba65c587 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-11T14:34:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_dis_flncavalcante.pdf: 5148966 bytes, checksum: 57ed2d52c836576ef91e50a7ba65c587 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / In Brazil, and more recently in the city of Fortaleza, there is a new form of entrepreneurship that is focused on the information and communication technology service sector and that draws the attention of young people, investors, governments, authors and media companies: it is known as the start-up movement. Today, it is considered to be a driving force behind the creative economy. Rooted on progressive discourse, the words enterprise and innovation seduce new economic agents motivated by success stories from Silicon Valley in America along with increasing commercial activity for digital goods and services. This master’s dissertation assesses, from a sociological point of view, the new productive wave problematized by the light of Manuel Castells’ informational capitalism. Considering the skeptical as well as the optimistic opinions about the impact of this new entrepreneurial rearrangement, the following question is asked: does the startup movement rekindle the capitalist spirit or does it present roots which divert from its speculating essence? The raised hypotheses are based on employability factors as well as cultural, economical, and political matters related to innovation and technology. This study has produced a nationwide quantitative assessment with a special focus on the reality of these Ceará firms; as well as comparative qualitative interviews on American and Brazilian experiences lived by identified agents. This dissertation outlines the public incentive policy of the federal government, the Start-up Brasil Program, from the perspective of these companies and provides details as to the discipline methods of the new enterprising way born in the United States. The startups are very young companies that are headed towards the economic sustainment of the productive sector services. These companies are dropping the seeds that will produce the re-enchantment of young people and bring them back to participation in political debate; they provide relief and reheats the job market; and they produce a democratization of the entrepreneurial “Do-It-Yourself” culture. They capitalize the pivot of the wall street wolves and of agents being charged for new masks. There are developmental logic’s prophylaxis in the face of dreadful innovation stagnation. The lack of continuity in Brazilian governmental politics and cultural nuances related to entrepreneurship are barring the desired regional success of this ecosystem. / Emerge no Brasil, e mais recentemente na cidade de Fortaleza, uma nova forma de empreendedorismo voltada ao setor de serviços de tecnologia de informação e comunicação, que desperta a atenção de jovens, investidores, governos, autores e empresas midiáticas: o movimento intitulado de startups, hoje considerado como força motriz da “economia criativa”. Usados em discursos progressistas, os verbos empreender e inovar seduzem novos agentes econômico, embasados nos casos de sucesso da região americana do Vale do Silício, que está alinhada às crescentes práticas de consumo de serviços e mercadorias digitais. Esta dissertação de mestrado esmiuça, sob ótica a sociológica, a nova onda produtiva problematizada à luz do capitalismo informacional de Manuel Castells. Bifurcada em visões céticas e otimistas quanto ao impacto deste novo rearranjo empreendedor, questiona-se: o movimento das startups rejuvenesce o espírito capitalista ou apresenta raízes divergentes à sua essência especulativa? As hipóteses levantadas estão relacionadas a fatores de empregabilidade, culturais, econômicos, políticos e questões relativas à inovação e tecnologia. Neste estudo foi feito um levantamento quantitativo no âmbito do Brasil, mas focando especialmente na realidade destas firmas cearenses. Tal foram realizadas entrevistas qualitativas, comparativas com experiências americanas e brasileiras, entre os agentes identificados. A dissertação esboça a política pública do governo federal de estímulo a estas empresas, o Programa Start-up Brasil, e detalha os métodos disciplinadores da nova forma de empreender transferida dos Estados Unidos. As startups são as firmas infantes que caminham rumo à sustentação econômica do setor produtivo de serviços. Semeiam o reencanto à participação de jovens no centro de debates políticos; proporcionam o alívio que reaquece o mercado de trabalho; acessibilizam o escudo democrático da cultura do empreendedorismo “faça-você-mesmo”. Capitalizam o pivô dos “lobos” de Wall Street e de agentes que se vestem de novas carapuças. São profilaxias da lógica desenvolvimentista perante o temido atraso inovativo. A falta de continuidade das políticas governamentais brasileiras e as nuances culturais relativas ao empreendedorismo são barreiras ao tão esperado sucesso regional deste ecossistema.

A digitalização e a evolução tecnológica experimentadas em anos recentes têm promovido mudanças na forma como as organizações se estabelecem e desenvolvem seus modelos de negócios. São exigidos intervalos de respostas cada vez mais curtos, bem como flexibilidade e dinamismo. Algumas práticas têm emergido para auxiliar empreendedores atuantes neste novo cenário, em especial aos líderes de startups e projetos de base inovadora. O presente trabalho apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa que teve como objetivo de investigar de que forma o lean startup pode auxiliar novos empreendimentos baseados em inovação a validar seus modelos de negócio, quais os fatores críticos de sucesso para a sua implementação e qual o grau de adoção de suas práticas por startups tecnológicas na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Para isto, o estudo foi dividido em três principais etapas. A primeira etapa consistiu em uma revisão sistemática da literatura a respeito da temática, com a identificação de estudos acerca do lean startup, customer development e gestão ágil. Foram identificados principais efeitos da implementação sobre as organizações e fatores críticos de sucesso para a execução A segunda e terceira etapas compreenderam estudos de caso múltiplos, com a identificação de práticas utilizadas por startups tecnológicas para a validação de elementos de modelos de negócio, e a coleta de percepções de líderes de startups de engenharia quanto ao lean startup e os principais obstáculos e facilitadores para a sua implementação. Entre os principais resultados, destacam-se os benefícios das práticas ágeis sobre a flexibilidade das organizações, bem como a redução de custos, se comparados à gestão baseada em planos de negócios. Deve-se ressaltar que os estudos de caso possuem limitações quanto à generalização, visto que podem não representar outras realidade. De toda a forma, o presente trabalho contribui para o preenchimento de parte de uma lacuna existente na literatura quanto à temática. / Digitization and technological evolution experienced in recent years has led to changes in the way organizations establish and develop their business models. Market demands quick responses as well as flexibility and dynamism. Some practices have emerged to assist entrepreneurs in this new scenario, especially leaders behind startups and innovation-based projects. This work presents results of a research that aimed at investigating how lean startup can support the validation of business models in innovation-based ventures, what are the critical success factors for its implementation, and whether the startups in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (RS) are actually adopting the methodology. To achieve this objective, the study was divided into three main stages. The first stage consisted of a systematic literature review on the subject, with the identification of studies about lean startup, customer development and agile management. As main findings, we identified lean startup effects on organizations and critical success factors for its implementation. The second and third steps included multiple case studies, identifying the practices used by technological startups to validate business models elements, and the perceptions of leaders behind engineering startups regarding to lean startup, as well as main obstacles and facilitators for its implementation. Some results regard the benefits of agile practices on the flexibility of organizations, as well as the reduction of costs, when compared to plan-based management approaches. Case studies have limitations on generalization, since they may not represent other realities. In any case, the present work contributes to fill part of a literature gap on the subject.

A digitalização e a evolução tecnológica experimentadas em anos recentes têm promovido mudanças na forma como as organizações se estabelecem e desenvolvem seus modelos de negócios. São exigidos intervalos de respostas cada vez mais curtos, bem como flexibilidade e dinamismo. Algumas práticas têm emergido para auxiliar empreendedores atuantes neste novo cenário, em especial aos líderes de startups e projetos de base inovadora. O presente trabalho apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa que teve como objetivo de investigar de que forma o lean startup pode auxiliar novos empreendimentos baseados em inovação a validar seus modelos de negócio, quais os fatores críticos de sucesso para a sua implementação e qual o grau de adoção de suas práticas por startups tecnológicas na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Para isto, o estudo foi dividido em três principais etapas. A primeira etapa consistiu em uma revisão sistemática da literatura a respeito da temática, com a identificação de estudos acerca do lean startup, customer development e gestão ágil. Foram identificados principais efeitos da implementação sobre as organizações e fatores críticos de sucesso para a execução A segunda e terceira etapas compreenderam estudos de caso múltiplos, com a identificação de práticas utilizadas por startups tecnológicas para a validação de elementos de modelos de negócio, e a coleta de percepções de líderes de startups de engenharia quanto ao lean startup e os principais obstáculos e facilitadores para a sua implementação. Entre os principais resultados, destacam-se os benefícios das práticas ágeis sobre a flexibilidade das organizações, bem como a redução de custos, se comparados à gestão baseada em planos de negócios. Deve-se ressaltar que os estudos de caso possuem limitações quanto à generalização, visto que podem não representar outras realidade. De toda a forma, o presente trabalho contribui para o preenchimento de parte de uma lacuna existente na literatura quanto à temática. / Digitization and technological evolution experienced in recent years has led to changes in the way organizations establish and develop their business models. Market demands quick responses as well as flexibility and dynamism. Some practices have emerged to assist entrepreneurs in this new scenario, especially leaders behind startups and innovation-based projects. This work presents results of a research that aimed at investigating how lean startup can support the validation of business models in innovation-based ventures, what are the critical success factors for its implementation, and whether the startups in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (RS) are actually adopting the methodology. To achieve this objective, the study was divided into three main stages. The first stage consisted of a systematic literature review on the subject, with the identification of studies about lean startup, customer development and agile management. As main findings, we identified lean startup effects on organizations and critical success factors for its implementation. The second and third steps included multiple case studies, identifying the practices used by technological startups to validate business models elements, and the perceptions of leaders behind engineering startups regarding to lean startup, as well as main obstacles and facilitators for its implementation. Some results regard the benefits of agile practices on the flexibility of organizations, as well as the reduction of costs, when compared to plan-based management approaches. Case studies have limitations on generalization, since they may not represent other realities. In any case, the present work contributes to fill part of a literature gap on the subject.

Denna uppsats undersöker hur svenska startup företag ser på Cloud Computing-teknologins möjligheter att främja deras entreprenörskap. För att undersöka detta har semistrukturerade intervjuer hållits med sex svenska startups i olika branscher. Intervjuerna kretsar kring den teoretiska bas som uppsatsen har lagt fram, huvudsakligen från Ross & Blumensteins teori kring hur Cloud Computing leder startup företag till entreprenöriella fördelar. Datan har analyserats tematiskt för att hitta återkommande teman som framträtt under intervjuerna. Cloud computing kan hjälpa svenska entreprenörer genom att sänka inträdesbarriärer och alternativkostnaden vilket kan minska riskerna och ge möjlighet att använda sig av konceptet “easy failure”. Flera av Cloud computing leverantörerna erbjuder finansiering till startups vilket ytterligare stärker dessa fördelar. Flera startups ser också operationella fördelar som förenklingar till en global arbetsplats, internationella samarbeten och att nå ut till en global marknadsplats. Dock framkommer också risker kopplat till säkerheten, integritetslagar och att förlora kontroll, även om det framträdande finns en stor tillit till leverantörernas säkerhetslösningar. Det framkommer också tecken på att många startups initialt kan adoptera denna nya teknologi och undgår därmed flera av de risker som finns kopplat till själva migrationsfasen. / This paper examines how Swedish startup companies look at Cloud Computing technology's ability to develop their entrepreneurship. To investigate this, semistructured interviews have been held with six Swedish startups in different industries. The interviews revolve around the theoretical basis that the essay has presented, mainly from Ross & Blumenstein's theory of how Cloud Computing leads startup companies to entrepreneurial benefits. The data has been analyzed thematically to find recurring themes that appeared during the interviews. Cloud computing can help Swedish entrepreneurs by reducing entry barriers and the opportunity costs, which can reduce risks and provide the opportunity to use the "easy failure" concept. Several Cloud computing providers offer funding for startups, which further strengthens these benefits. Several startups also see operational benefits like simplifications to a global workplace, international collaborations, and reaching a global marketplace. They also see risks associated with security, integrity laws and losing control. Although prominent, there is a great deal of confidence in suppliers' security solutions. There are also signs that many startups can initially adopt this new technology and avoid many of the risks associated with migration itself.

Idag anses startupföretag vara en viktig del av samhället, både för den ekonomiska tillväxten och ekonomiskt välstånd. Främst bidrar de med innovation, nya arbetstillfällen och välstånd. Dock är det endast hälften som lyckas skapa avkastning på investerat kapital. Att anskaffa riskkapital anses vara ett av de största problemen för en startup och är avgörande för dess tillväxt. Det finns ett antal kriterier som venture capital-bolag, VC-bolag, värderar högst vid ett investeringsbeslut hos en startup, de faktorerna har studerats tidigare av många teoretiker. Frågan är dock om teorierna stämmer överens med dagens samhälle med tanke på att läget ser annorlunda ut. Samtidigt är det intressant att veta om startupförtag fokuserar på det VC-bolagen värderar högst vid investeringsbeslutet. Studiens syfte är att se vilka faktorer som främst bidrar till att dagens startupföretag får riskkapital. Vidare undersöks vad startupföretag tror är de mest relevanta faktorerna i VC-bolagens investeringsbeslut. Slutligen visar undersökningen om teorier som finns inom området är applicerbara på svenska venture capital-bolags investeringsbeslut idag. Studien utgår från en kvantitativ ansats med ett deduktivt förhållningssätt och ett positivistiskt perspektiv. All empirisk data är insamlad genom en surveyundersökning med ett urval på 125 företag och vald forskningsdesign är tvärsnitt. Vidare analyseras det insamlade materialet med valda teorier, för att därefter besvara forskningsfrågorna i slutsatsen. Studien ger en detaljerad bild över de kriterier som används vid ett VC-bolags investeringsbeslut i en startup. De viktigaste faktorerna är marknadens behov av produkten, tillväxtpotential inom marknaden och marknadens storlek. Studien har även kommit fram till att startupföretag har en god uppfattning om vad VC-bolag värderar högst vid ett investeringsbeslut. Utöver det här är den har studien kommit fram till att entreprenörens egenskaper har mindre betydelse vid ett investeringsbeslut än vad tidigare teorier betonar. Studien bidrar befintlig teori med nya synsätt av vad dagens svenska VC-bolag värderar högst vid ett investeringsbeslut hos en startup. / Today startups are considered to be an important part of the society, regarding both the economic growth and economic affluence. Foremost they contribute to innovation, job creation and prosperity. Out of ten startups it is only five who succeed in yielding return on invested capital. To procure venture capital is considered to be one of the biggest problems for a startup but also essential for their growth. There are a number of criteria that venture capital firms evaluate before investing in a startup, these criteria have been studied by many theorists. The question is if the theories are relevant to society today, considering it is forever changing. At the same time, it is interesting to research if startups have the same idea regarding the relevance of the criteria that venture capital firms evaluate when making an investment decision. The aim of this study is to evaluate which criteria are contributing to a startup company receiving venture capital. Also what startups think are the most relevant criteria in a venture capital firm’s investment decision are investigated. Finally, the study examines if the existing theories on the subject are still applicable on Swedish venture capital firms’ investment decision. The study is based on a quantitative method with a deductive approach and a positivistic perspective. All empirical data is gathered through a survey with a selection of 125 companies and the research design is cross-sectional. The empirical data is analyzed with the explained theories in order to answer research questions in the conclusion section. The research provides a detailed overview of the criteria that venture capital firms use when making an investments decision for startups. The most important criteria are market need for the product, growth potential of the market and size of the market. The study shows that startups has a good perception of what venture capital firms are valuing the most in an investment decision. In addition to this, the research discovered that entrepreneurial characteristics has less value in an investment decision than previous theories stresses. In conclusion, the study provides a developed view to already existing theories about the criteria used by Swedish venture capital firms when making a decision to invest in a startup today.

Detta arbete undersökte den kommunikationsprocess som sker mellan en inkubator och startupföretag, samt dess effektivitet. Syftet med denna studie var att studera och undersöka faktorer som skapar en välfungerande kommunikation, för- och nackdelar med både fysisk samt digital kommunikation mellan en inkubator och startup, i detta fall Innovatum Startup, och dess startup kunder. Tidigare forskning som studerats visade inte tillräckligt med studier om vilket kommunikationssätt som är mest effektivt mellan en inkubator och startupföretag, därför valde vi en fallstudie för att kunna studera kommunikationen på ett djupare nivå. Detta arbete grundar sig i primärdata från semistrukturerade intervjuer hos Innovatum Startup och de startupföretag som vänt sig till dem för coaching. Denna data har kompletterats och jämförts med vetenskapligt granskade artiklar samt litteratur kopplade till det berörda ämnet. Avsnittet med teori har fokuserat på de mest väsentliga faktorerna som tillhör det valda ämnet. Här presenteras tidigare forskning om Kommunikationsmodeller, kommunikationens olika nivåer och strukturer, inkubator, startupföretag och dess kommunikationskanaler, digital kommunikation, face-to-face kommunikation samt business to business relationer med fokus på kommunikation. Teoriavsnittet har klargjort de olika sorters kommunikationsmedel som företag typiskt använder sig av, dess fördelar, nackdelar och tillvägagångssätt. Empiri insamlades genom att intervjua Innovatum Startup's affärscoacher samt företag som deltagit i deras inkubatorprocess. Resultaten tyder på att Innovatum Startup har en bra grund i användandet av olika kommunikationstyper, och bör fortsätta med att utvärdera samt utveckla de digitala kommunikationsverktygen som används, då detta kommunikationssätt med största sannolikhet kommer att dominera även i framtiden. Slutligen så är det viktigt att poängtera att den fysiska kommunikationen är väldigt viktig och bör inte bortses från, då den bildar hållbara relationer och förtroende mellan parterna. / This work investigated the communication process that is between a Incubator and Startup companies, as well as its effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to study and investigate factors that create a in well-functioning communication, the pros and cons of both physical and digital communication between an incubator and startup, in this case Innovatum Startup, and its startup customers. The previous research that has been studied did not show enough studies about which way of communicating are most common between an incubator and a startup company. That is the reason why we chose this subject to study, to gather a deeper understanding. This work is based on primary data from semi-structured interviews that was conducted from Innovatum Startup and the startup companies that turned to them for coaching. This data has been supplemented and compared with scientifically reviewed articles as well as literature related to the subject concerned. The section with theory has focused on the most important factors that belong to the chosen topic. This includes previous research on communication models, the different levels and structures of communication, the incubator, startup companies and their communication channels, digital communication, face-to-face communication as well as business to business relations with a focus on communication are presented. The theory section has clarified the different types of communication tools that companies typically use, its advantages, disadvantages and approaches. Empiri was gathered by interviewing Innovatum Startup's business coaches and companies that participated in their incubator process. The results indicate that Innovatum Startup has a good foundation in the use of different types of communication and should continue to evaluate and develop the digital communication tools used, as this method of communication will most likely continue to dominate in the future. Finally, it is important to point out that physical communication is very important and should not be disregarded as it forms lasting relationships and trust between the parties.

Die zunehmende Bedeutung und Abhängigkeit von Informationen und dem daraus generierten Wissen führt zu einer Verschiebung der Bedeutsamkeit von Ressourcen und ihrer Handhabbarkeit in der wirtschaftlichen Gegenwart. Mit Anbruch des Zeitalters der wissensbasierten Wirtschaft liegt das Hauptaugenmerk einer Vielzahl von Unternehmen nicht in der klassischen Produktion von Gütern, sondern vielmehr im Angebot und Austausch knapper, marktrelevanter und erfolgsentscheidender Informationen. Anders als in früheren Wirtschaftsdekaden ist Wissen nicht Beiwerk des unternehmerischen Handels sondern der Schlüssel für innovatives Wachstum, wirtschaftlichen Erfolg und Fortbestand einer Unternehmung. Wissen ist damit zur entscheidenden Ressource der weltweiten Wirtschaft geworden. [... aus dem Text]

Les communautés de pratique (CoP) sont citées dans la littérature comme des espaces potentiels de coopération entre pairs pour favoriser l’accès aux connaissances et permettre le développement de l’innovation. Ce réseau informel de coopération représente un intérêt particulier pour les start-up innovantes qui souffrent du manque de ressources et d’un certain « handicap à la nouveauté », notamment quand elles sont trop éloignées des capacités et des routines d’autres potentiels partenaires de l’innovation. Cependant, dans leur réalité inter-organisationnelle, la question de la compétition ne peut être écartée. Or, cette dynamique paradoxale, marquée par la rencontre entre les logiques de coopération et de compétition, n’est pas abordée dans la littérature portant sur les CoP. De même, les travaux traitant de la coopétition explorent rarement ces dynamiques dans les réseaux informels. Ainsi, l’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier les effets de la coopétition sur les dynamiques sociales des CoP inter-organisationnelles en contexte d’innovation. Pour ce faire, nous nous basons sur l’étude de cas exploratoire et longitudinale enchâssée de la CoP de startups innovantes du domaine des technologies de l’information et de la communication de San Pedro Valley, au Brésil. L’analyse du cas permet de construire une catégorisation des différentes relations de coopétition au sein de la CoP. Si la participation des entrepreneurs, membres de ce réseau informel, permet la réalisation d’ajustements stratégiques permettant aux startups de mener à bien leur projet d’innovation, certaines relations de coopétition modifient progressivement le fonctionnement communautaire de par l’émergence de tensions et de conflits dans leur milieu hautement concurrentiel. Les résultats de cette thèse apportent ainsi un éclairage nouveau sur le fonctionnement des CoP au niveau inter-organisationnel à l’échelle d’une ville et montre comment la coopétition se développe dans un réseau informel. Des apports managériaux pour les entrepreneurs sont aussi à souligner parce qu’ils permettent une meilleure appréhension de leur écosystème d’innovation. / Community of practice (CoP) is defined as a potential space for cooperation between peers favoring the access to knowledge and allowing the development of innovation. A CoP, which can also be seen as an informal network of cooperation, could be interesting for startups that suffering with the lack of resources and that are deficient in their innovation process, especially when they are far from potential innovation partners. However, the issue of competition cannot be disregarded in their inter-organizational context. Furthermore, the literature on communities of practice has not yet addressed this paradoxical dynamic in which there is presence at the same time of cooperation and competition logics. Moreover, the literature of coopetition does not well explore this kind of dynamics in informal networks. Thus, the goal of this thesis is to study the effect of coopetition on the social dynamics of inter-organizational CoPs in an innovation context. This study is based on an exploratory and longitudinal case study that was conducted at San Pedro Valley (Brazil), which is a CoP of innovative startups in the information technology sector. The analysis of this case study allows us to construct a categorization of different relationships of coopetition that exist in the inter-organizational CoP. Even if the participation of entrepreneurs, which are members of this informal network, allows the strategic adjustment of their companies in issues related to the innovation projects, some relations will progressively modify the crucial characteristics of the CoP due to the forthcoming of tensions and conflicts. One of the main results of this thesis is a new light at the functioning of CoP at the inter-organizational level showing how the coopetition strategies is developed in informal networks. Another result includes an individual-level to understand the drivers of coopetition, and then the study provides insights about the informal relationship in the scope of coopetition strategy. It is also worth mentioning methodological contributions based on the use of a "netnography" approach to entrepreneurial social networks, as well as managerial contributions to entrepreneurs, allowing a better understanding of their innovation ecosystem.

Background: Corporate accelerators (CAs) are a relatively new phenomenon and increasingly used by corporates to increase their level of innovation. However, there are still no best practices on how these CA programs can be structured more efficiently in order to serve the needs of startups and corporates simultaneously. Here, most extant research focuses on the general goals of CA programs and the definition of certain core elements and features which describe a CA (i.e. provision of coworking space; educational programs), while disregarding the objectives of the startups participating. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how current CA programs can be improved, by analyzing the experiences and perspectives of both corporates and startups. It aims to identify, how CA programs can be more successful for corporates and startups. Method: To satisfy the purpose of this qualitative study, an exploratory research approach was selected and a multi-case research strategy applied. Data was gathered through in-depth, semi-structured expert interviews with five managers and three participants of accelerator programs managed by leading multinational corporates. Through a content analysis, we built new theory based on our findings. Conclusion: This study shed light on current difficulties that arise in CA programs such as internal politics and bureaucracy, internal communication, corporate rigidities, and the important tasks of CA managers navigating those issues. Our study contributes to research on CAs by (1) emphasizing current barriers of CAs; (2) presenting suggestions for creating more successful CAs; (3) showing how CA managers can foster interactions between corporate business units and startups: and (4) creating the SET CA model.

[pt] O propósito da pesquisa descrita foi investigar o recente fenômeno da criação de aceleradoras de startups digitais por empresas brasileiras de grande porte, uma tendência no mercado brasileiro e global. Apesar de existir bastante literatura acerca do tema de inovação corporativa, poucos autores estudaram o envolvimento entre corporações e startups através da implementação de aceleradoras corporativas, já que este é um modelo bastante recente, tanto no Brasil quanto no exterior. Por isso, este estudo busca entender que motivações estão por trás do investimento neste modelo, quais os benefícios percebidos por empresas que já o desenvolveram e quais os ajustes necessários no modelo de aceleração corporativa. Para tal, os únicos dois casos existentes de aceleradoras de startups lançadas por corporações brasileiras de grande porte foram analisados. Foram conduzidas entrevistas em profundidade com os gestores responsáveis pelas atividades de inovação e pela criação das aceleradoras corporativas dentro de cada organização, de forma a identificar diretamente da fonte os principais problemas existentes na realização de atividades de inovação anteriores e as motivações que levaram as empresas à escolha deste novo modelo de envolvimento com iniciativas digitais nascentes. O estudo identificou que as corporações possuem dificuldade em inovar devido à falta de alinhamento de expectativas internas, principalmente de retorno financeiro, e ao engessamento da estrutura corporativa, que reduz a velocidade de atividades ligadas à inovação. Existem, por outro lado, fortes motivações para alterar o modelo de atuação e a forma de se pensar a inovação por meio da implementação de aceleradoras corporativas, como a necessidade de acompanhar melhor as tendências do mercado, a crescente importância da presença no ambiente digital para melhorar as relações com os clientes, a influência do envolvimento anterior da liderança das organizações com empreendedorismo e a existência de modelos já comprovados fora do Brasil. Apesar de as aceleradoras corporativas ainda estarem em estágio inicial e não apresentarem resultados significativos, é possível identificar claramente os benefícios esperados pelas organizações. Alguns já estão mais presentes, como a melhora da imagem institucional das organizações devido ao investimento em inovação. Por outro lado, os principais benefícios esperados, como a transformação cultural da empresa e o retorno financeiro dos investimentos realizados, ainda não são uma realidade. Percebe-se, dessa forma, que as aceleradoras corporativas ainda não contaminam de forma suficientemente forte as organizações, principalmente por não possuírem o nível de exposição adequado aos profissionais que não estão diretamente envolvidos na sua operação. As aceleradoras corporativas surgem como uma nova opção de envolvimento com startups, de forma a unir a velocidade de execução e a flexibilidade de empresas tecnológicas de pequeno porte com a capacidade de escala, a experiência e o financiamento de grandes corporações. Estas estruturas possibilitam que elas desenvolvam uma operação de inovação independente da sua influência, libertando o desenvolvimento de novas ideias e projetos do engessamento dos processos e regras corporativos. Dessa forma, é possível agregar valor à organização tanto com o desenvolvimento de novos negócios quanto com a geração de complementadores para produtos e serviços já existentes, melhorando o posicionamento estratégico da empresa no ambiente competitivo. / [en] The purpose of this study is to investigate the recent phenomenon of creation of digital accelerators by large Brazilian corporations, a trend in the Brazilian and global market. Although there is much literature available on the subject of corporate innovation, few authors have studied the involvement of corporations and startups through the implementation of corporate accelerators, since this is a fairly recent model, both in Brazil and abroad. Therefore, this study seeks to understand what motivations are behind the investment in this model, which benefits are expected by companies that have developed it and what adjustments are needed in the corporate acceleration model. To this end, the only two existing cases of accelerator of startups launched by large Brazilian corporations were analyzed. Depth interviews were conducted with the managers responsible for innovation activities and for the creation of the corporate accelerator within each organization, in order to identify directly from the source the main problems in the implementation of past innovation activities and the motivations that led the companies to choose this new model of engagement with new digital ventures. The study identified that corporations have difficulty to innovate due to lack of alignment of internal expectations, especially of financial return, and the inflexibility of the corporate structure, which reduces the speed of activities related to innovation. There are, moreover, strong motivations to change the operating model and the way of thinking innovation through the implementation of corporate accelerators such as the need to better monitor the market trends, the growing importance of presence in the digital environment in order to improve relations with customers, the influence of previous involvement with entrepreneurship by the leadership of organizations, and the existence of proven models outside Brazil. Although corporate accelerators are still at an early stage and do not present significant results, it is possible to clearly identify the benefits expected by the organizations. Some already exist, such as the improvement of the institutional image of the organizations due to investment in innovation. On the other hand, the main benefits expected, as the cultural transformation of the company and the financial return on investment, are still not a reality. It is clear, therefore, that corporate accelerator has not contaminate strongly enough these organizations, mainly because they lack the appropriate exposure level for professionals who are not directly involved in its operation. Corporate accelerators emerge as a new option of involvement with startups, putting together the speed of execution and flexibility of small technology companies with the ability to scale, experience and deep pockets of large corporations. These structures enable them to develop an independent innovation operation that is not impacted by its influence, freeing the development of new ideas and projects from immobilization processes and business rules. Thus, it is possible to add value to the organization both with the development of new business and the generation of complementers to existing products and services, improving the strategic positioning of the company in the competitive environment.