Return to search

Corporate Accelerator - A study exploring CA program conditions to foster more successful startup and corporate engagement

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.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-49067
Date January 2020
CreatorsHagedorn, Simon, Thien, Robin
PublisherInternationella Handelshögskolan, Jönköping University, IHH, Företagsekonomi, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Jönköping University, IHH, Företagsekonomi
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Page generated in 0.0018 seconds