Research Insights
Academic research into accelerators
Accelerator Value Proposition
Accelerators as authentic training experiences for nascent entrepreneurs
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the role of accelerators as authentic learning-based entrepreneurial training programs. Accelerators facilitate the development and assessment of entrepreneurial competencies in nascent entrepreneurs through the process of creating a start-up venture. Survey data from applicants and participants of four start-accelerators ar
Citation
Miles, M. P., de Vries, H., Harrison, G., Bliemel, M., De Klerk, S., & Kasouf, C. J. (2017). Accelerators as authentic training experiences for nascent entrepreneurs. Education+ Training, 59(7/8), 811-824.
Accelerator Related Issues
Platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: startup models and the role of business incubation
Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to examine the startup models adopted by entrepreneurs in launching platform enterprises, and the effectiveness of business incubators across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data reflecting origin, models, services, ownership and other variables were collected on over 600 platforms and 196 incubators, and were analyzed using descriptive and i
Citation
David-West, O., Umukoro, I. and Onuoha, R. (2018), "Platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: startup models and the role of business incubation", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 581-616.
Accelerator Program Design
The design of startup accelerators [Research Policy]
Accelerator programs are an increasingly important part of entrepreneurial ecosystems. While accelerators have core defining features—fixed-term, cohort-based educational and mentorship programs for startups— there is also significant variation amongst them. In this paper, we relate key variation in the antecedents, organizational design and operation of these programs to t
Citation
Cohen, S., Fehder, D. C., Hochberg, Y. V., & Murray, F. (2019). The design of startup accelerators. Research Policy, 48(7), 1781-1797.
Accelerator Program Design
The role of accelerator designs in mitigating bounded rationality in new ventures [Adminstrative Science Quarterly]
Using a nested multiple-case study of participating ventures, directors, and mentors of eight of the original U.S. accelerators, we explore how accelerators’ program designs influence new ventures’ ability to access, interpret, and process the external information needed to survive and grow. Through our inductive process, we illuminate the bounded-rationality challenges tha
Citation
Cohen, S. L., Bingham, C. B., & Hallen, B. L. (2018). The role of accelerator designs in mitigating bounded rationality in new ventures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 0001839218782131.
Accelerator Economic Impact
Accelerating Entrepreneurs and Ecosystems: The Seed Accelerator Model
Recent years have seen the emergence of a new institutional form in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: the seed accelerator. These fixed-term, cohort-based “boot camps” for start-ups offer educational and mentorship programs for start-up founders, exposing them to a wide variety of mentors, including former entrepreneurs, venture capitalists (VCs), angel investors, and corporat
Citation
Yael V. Hochberg, "Accelerating Entrepreneurs and Ecosystems: The Seed Accelerator Model," Innovation Policy and the Economy 16 (2016): 25-51.
Accelerator Economic Impact
Accelerators and ecosystems
A new institutional form has emerged in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in recent years: the seed accelerator. These fixed-term cohort-based “boot camps” for startups offer education and mentorship for startup founders and culminate in a “demo day,” during which graduates pitch their businesses to potential investors. Many local governments hope to use accelerators to transfo
Citation
Hochberg, Y. V., & Fehder, D. C. (2015). Accelerators and ecosystems. Science, 348(6240), 1202-1203.
Accelerator Economic Impact
Can accelerators accelerate local high-growth entrepreneurship? Evidence from venture-backed startup activity
We examine the impact of seed accelerator programs—fixed-term, cohort-based educational and mentorship programs for startups—on venture-backed seed and early stage technology entrepreneurship in the regions in which they locate. Accelerators are often opened with an eye towards galvanizing technology entrepreneurship activity in the region through provision of peer effects/
Citation
Fehder, D., & Hochberg, Y. (2018). Can accelerators accelerate local high-growth entrepreneurship? Evidence from venture-backed startup activity. University of Southern California Working Paper. . com/assets/portfolio/FH. pdf.
Corporate Accelerators
Accelerating strategic fit or venture emergence: Different paths adopted by corporate accelerators
Corporate accelerators (CAs) are a fast-emerging form of corporate engagement with startups. Equating them with independent startup accelerators and/or corporate venturing limits our understanding of how and why corporations run CA programs and to what end. In this inductive grounded theory study, we explore how corporations design and run CAs and to what effect. This study
Citation
Shankar, R. K., & Shepherd, D. A. (2018). Accelerating strategic fit or venture emergence: Different paths adopted by corporate accelerators. Journal of Business Venturing.
Accelerator Investors
Portfolio size and information disclosure: An analysis of startup accelerators
We study the information-gathering role of a startup accelerator and consider the accelerator's incentives to choose a portfolio size and disclose information about participating ventures. We show that in a rational-expectations equilibrium, the resultant portfolio size is smaller than the first-best (efficient) level, consistent with some real-world observations. We furthe
Citation
Kim, J. H., & Wagman, L. (2014). Portfolio size and information disclosure: An analysis of startup accelerators. Journal of Corporate Finance, 29, 520-534.
Corporate Accelerators
Toward a better understanding of corporate accelerator models
Corporate accelerator programs—accelerators managed by or directly sponsored by one or multiple established firms—are becoming an integral part of startup ecosystems and an important startup engagement vehicle for established firms. Previous research focused either on independent accelerators or on corporate accelerator programs that one established firm operates internally
Citation
Moschner, S. L., Fink, A. A., Kurpjuweit, S., Wagner, S. M., & Herstatt, C. (2019). Toward a better understanding of corporate accelerator models. Business Horizons.
Accelerator Value Proposition
Seed accelerators and the speed of new venture creation
Technology startups need to launch, simultaneously and quickly, innovative products (or services) and organizations, but some are able to launch more quickly than others. This paper explores how some ventures start up very quickly, and the mechanisms by which accelerator programs assist nascent technology ventures to minimize startup time. Through four in-depth case studies
Citation
Stayton, J., & Mangematin, V. (2019). Seed accelerators and the speed of new venture creation. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 44(4), 1163-1187.
Accelerator Value Proposition
Do Accelerators Accelerate? A Study of Venture Accelerators as a Path to Success?
A fundamental challenge for new ventures is overcoming liabilities of newness - particularly, lack of business knowledge and lack of social embeddedness. Accelerators, intense, time- compressed entrepreneurial programs, attempt to alleviate these liabilities and accelerate venture development by facilitating learning and network development in new ventures. However, because
Citation
Hallen, B. & Bingham, C. & Cohen, S.. (2014). Do Accelerators Accelerate? A Study of Venture Accelerators as a Path to Success?. Academy of Management Proceedings.
Accelerator Program Design
Open accelerators for start-ups success: a case study
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the context of open innovation offered by accelerators can affect the successful growth of start-ups. The authors explore accelerators practices and tools in sustaining start-ups and increasing survival probability in their innovation process, with the aim of addressing the following research question: how can start-u
Citation
Battistella, C., De Toni, A. and Pessot, E. (2017), "Open accelerators for start-ups success: a case study", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 80-111.
Corporate Accelerators
Corporate accelerators: fostering innovation while bringing together startups and large firms
This paper aims to examine the experience of hub:raum, the accelerator program of Deutsche Telekom, to deduce potential success factors. In today’s fast-paced world, large companies strive to keep up with the disruptive changes in their markets brought by innovative startups. In face of these challenges, the paradigm of open innovation encourages firms to use internal ideas
Citation
Kupp, M., Marval, M. and Borchers, P. (2017), "Corporate accelerators: fostering innovation while bringing together startups and large firms", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp.
Corporate Accelerators
Outsourcing creativity: An abductive study of open innovation using corporate accelerators
Corporate accelerators are organizational devices designed to bring together innovative new ventures and startups with specialist knowledge and creativity with the experience and funding of established companies. The main goal for the use of an accelerator program by an established corporation is to open up the innovation process and actively profit from the innovative capa
Citation
(Richter, Jackson, & Schildhauer, 2018) Creativity and Innovation Management 27(4)
Growth and Economic Impact of Accelerators
Where Do Accelerators Fit in the Venture Creation Pipeline? Different Values Brought by Different Types of Accelerators
Despite the emergence of startup accelerators as venture development organizations (VDOs) to high-growth firms, research has yet to identify where these accelerators fit into the venture development ecosystem. By clarifying and reviewing three different subsystems in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, our paper proposes that as an extension of the current incubation mechanism,
Citation
(Yang, Kher, & Lyons, 2018) Entrepreneurship Research Journal, Volume 8, Issue 4, 20170140, ISSN (Online) 2157-5665
Corporate Accelerators
Corporate accelerators: Building bridges between corporations and startups
Today's startups are a major source of innovation, as they employ emerging technologies to invent products and reinvent business models. Corporations that embrace an open innovation strategy increasingly look to startups as a source of external innovation. Corporate accelerators offer a potent approach to nurturing innovations from entrepreneurial ventures. However, the vas
Citation
Kohler, 2016 Business Horizons 59(3); DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2016.01.008
Corporate Accelerators
Situational Logic: an analysis of open innovation using corporate accelerators
Open innovation is an innovation framework proposing that established firms use external sources as pathways to new ideas, technologies, business models and markets. Within this framework, established companies can use startups, or young, growth-oriented business to help them achieve radical or breakthrough innovations. In this paper, we focus on established firms which use
Citation
(Jackson & Richter, 2017). International Journal of Innovation Management 21(7):1750062
Growth and Economic Impact of Accelerators
Accelerator Expertise: Understanding the Intermediary Role of Accelerators in the Development of the Bangalore Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
To understand the intermediary role of accelerators in the developing regional entrepreneurial ecosystem of Bangalore, we analyze data from 54 interviews with accelerator graduates, accelerator managers, and other ecosystem stakeholders, and from 49 websites, 13 online video interviews, 26 online news sources and 301 pages of policy documents. Specifically, we adopt a socia
Citation
Ketan Goswami, J. Robert Mitchell, Suresh Bhagavatula, 2017. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 12(3)
Accelerator Acceptance Criteria
How Do Accelerators Select Startups? Shifting Decision Criteria Across Stages
Competitive accelerators can help startups overcome resource constraints and the liability of newness, but they are also highly selective when choosing startups. However, little is known about how a top accelerator selects startups and what the decision criteria are in that process. Here, we analyze a unique dataset of the real profiles of the startups that applied to the f
Citation
(Yin & Luo, 2018). IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management PP(99):1-16
Corporate Accelerators
Toward a better understanding of corporate accelerator models
Corporate accelerator programs—accelerators managed by or directly sponsored by one or multiple established firms—are becoming an integral part of startup ecosystems and an important startup engagement vehicle for established firms. Previous research focused either on independent accelerators or on corporate accelerator programs that one established firm operates internally
Citation
Sandra-Luisa Moschnera, Alexander A. Finkb, Stefan Kurpjuweitb, Stephan M. Wagnerb, Cornelius Herstatta (2019). Toward a better understanding of corporate accelerator models. Business Horizons, (62)5, 637-647
Growth and Economic Impact of Accelerators
Business incubators and accelerators: a co-citation analysis-based, systematic literature review
A long and rich research tradition exists on the phenomenon of business incubators since this kind of venture support institution first emerged. One can observe an increasing heterogeneity of incubation beyond the traditional mainstream focus on regional development and university-based incubators. In the last decade, in particular the phenomenon of accelerators as a partic
Citation
Hausberg, J.P. & Korreck, S. J Technol Transf (2018). Business incubators and accelerators: a co-citation analysis-based, systematic literature review. Journal of Technology Transfer, pp 1–26
Accelerator Program Design
Understanding a new generation incubation model: The accelerator
Prior research hints at the accelerator as a new generation incubation model. Accelerators have become an umbrella term for any program providing a service structure of mentorship, networking opportunities and access to funding. The challenge, however, is to understand their distinctive characteristics and profiles geared towards reinforcing business start-ups. How do accel
Citation
Pauwels, C., Clarysse, B., Wright, M., & Van Hove, J. (2016). Understanding a new generation incubation model: The accelerator. Technovation, 50, 13–24.
Accelerator Program Design
Portfolio size and information disclosure: An analysis of startup accelerators
We study the information-gathering role of a startup accelerator and consider the accelerator's incentives to choose a portfolio size and disclose information about participating ventures. We show that in a rational-expectations equilibrium, the resultant portfolio size is smaller than the first-best (efficient) level, consistent with some real-world observations. We furthe
Citation
Kim, Jin-Hyuk & Wagman, Liad, 2014. "Portfolio size and information disclosure: An analysis of startup accelerators," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), 520-534.
Corporate Accelerators
Engaging with Startups to Enhance Corporate Innovation
When it comes to agility, startups have an edge over large corporations—whereas large corporations sit on resources which startups can only dream of. The combination of entrepreneurial activity with corporate ability seems like a perfect match, but can be elusive to achieve. This article examines how large corporations from the tech industry have begun to tap into entrepren
Citation
Weiblen, T., & Chesbrough, H. W. (2015). Engaging with startups to enhance corporate innovation. California Management Review, 57(2), 66-90.
Growth and Economic Impact of Accelerators
Essays on the evaluation of entrepreneurship programs
This dissertation consists of three essays studying the impact of a relatively recent type of entrepreneurship program (startup accelerators) on the performance of firms, regions, and the selection of early-stage projects in the economy. The first essay explores the impact of startup accelerators on early-stage entrepreneurial activity in their region by exploring the effec
Citation
Fehder, D. C. (2016). Essays on the evaluation of entrepreneurship programs (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Accelerator Value Proposition
Ayudarum: an Austrian crowdsourcing company in the Startup Chile accelerator program
The founders of Ayudarum, an Austrian crowdsourcing company that is focused on connecting students with potential employers, joined the Chilean Startup accelerator ‘Startup Chile’ to help their young company expand outside its European roots. Startup Chile had provided Ayudarum with a mentor to help them understand how to grow Ayudarum’s number of users. Ayudarum’s initial
Citation
Carmel, E., & Káganer, E. (2014). Ayudarum: an Austrian crowdsourcing company in the Startup Chile accelerator program. Journal of Business Economics, 84(3), 469-478.
University Based Accelerators
Startup time, innovation and organizational emergence: A study of USA-based international technology ventures
The acceleration of new technology venture launch and growth is an important and rapidly growing field of practice for university-based accelerators, incubators, and technology transfer offices. Based on four comparative case studies of fast-launching clean tech startups in the USA (two of which were university-affiliated), this paper explains how some technology startups a
Citation
Stayton, J., & Mangematin, V. (2016). Startup time, innovation and organizational emergence: A study of USA-based international technology ventures. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 14(3), 373-409.
Accelerator Mentors / Advisors
The influence of the lean startup methodology on entrepreneur-coach relationships in the context of a startup accelerator
The lean startup methodology has been steadily gaining widespread popularity during the past few years. As part of this trend, startup accelerator programs have begun to adopt the methodology as their main organizing framework. At the same time, coaches and their coaching practices lie at the core of many accelerator programs. Despite the widespread recognition of the impor
Citation
Mansoori, Y., Karlsson, T., & Lundqvist, M. (2019). The influence of the lean startup methodology on entrepreneur-coach relationships in the context of a startup accelerator. Technovation, 84, 37-47.
Corporate Accelerators
Key Factors in Building a Corporate Accelerator Capability: Developing an effective corporate accelerator requires close attention to the relationships between startups and the sponsoring company.
Overview: Since the creation of the first innovation accelerator, Y Combinator, in 2005, corporate accelerators are increasingly being adopted as a way for established firms to source innovation from startups. However, few studies have addressed the drivers of successful accelerators. This case study examines the experience of an established, global firm that launched 12 co
Citation
Mahmoud-Jouini, S. B., Duvert, C., & Esquirol, M. (2018). Key Factors in Building a Corporate Accelerator Capability: Developing an effective corporate accelerator requires close attention to the relationships between startups and the sponsoring company. Research-Technology Management, 61(4), 26-34.