Supply chain management accelerators: Types, objectives, and key design features

Abstract

Startups often lead the technological transformation of logistics and supply chain practices. To shed light on the engagement between established (logistics) firms and external startups, this study takes up the emerging collaboration vehicle of supply chain management (SCM) accelerators. In contrast to few previous studies investigating generic, cross-sector accelerators, this work examines the design of sector-specialized accelerators, which narrow their scope, curriculum, and participants to SC operations and logistics services. We adopt a multiple-case study approach and draw on a unique dataset of nine SCM accelerators. Our findings display the participants’ and operators’ objectives and describe the programs’ SCM-specific design features. We identify substantial differences across SCM accelerators, and between SCM accelerators and generic, cross-sector accelerators. Based on these observations, we derive six propositions that condense our findings and may motivate future research.