Technology Acceleration Research Articles

Untangling the Benefits of Business Accelerators: Experimental Evidence on What Works and for Whom 

Untangling the Benefits of Business Accelerators: Experimental Evidence on What Works and for Whom 

Impact Business Accelerators: How Can They Contribute to ANOTHER Development? The Construction of the Innovative Fair Contract Methodology

Impact Business Accelerators: How Can They Contribute to ANOTHER Development? The Construction of the Innovative Fair Contract Methodology

Формирование предпринимательских компетенций в области социального предпринимательства

The article discusses methodological approaches to the formation of entrepreneurial competencies in the field of social entrepreneurship. It is proved that the choice of educational content and the focus of studying the features of management in social entrepreneurship depends on the level of training and learning goals of certain categories of students. The approaches to the design of practical classes and materials for the current monitoring of students’ academic performance at various levels of professional educational programs are presented. Examples of tasks and workshops are considered, differing in content, volume, complexity, methods and techniques that are used in the process of teaching social entrepreneurship at IFPU Synergy. The authors confirm the expediency of a differentiated approach to the organization of the process of teaching social entrepreneurship to students in college (SPE), bachelor’s degree (specialty) in the field of Entrepreneurship and in the system of additional training in the business accelerator.

THE ROLE OF STARTUP ACCELERATORS IN THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The research is dedicated to exploring the significant impact that startup accelerators have on the growth and development of innovative entrepreneurship. It examines how these accelerators support emerging businesses, particularly in the areas of technology and innovation. The study aims to critically analyse and articulate the integral role of startup accelerators in fostering AI-driven entrepreneurship, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of their impact on the innovation ecosystem. The research findings indicate that accelerator programs are instrumental in the growth of AI startups, contributing more than just financial aid. They offer crucial strategic advice, mentorship, and access to broad networks. A notable example is the success of AI startups like OpenAI, which have flourished under these programs, gaining substantial funding and high market valuations. This underscores the role of accelerator programs in fostering industry innovation and growth. AI-focused entrepreneurial ventures are expected to have a significant impact on the global economy and technological progress. By 2030, they are expected to contribute around 16 trillion USD to global GDP, primarily driven by productivity gains, personalisation and quality improvements. Innovation development policies, particularly in AI, have a profound impact on the global redistribution of human capital, particularly in terms of talent acquisition and innovation. Initiatives aimed at strengthening AI talent and facilitating visa processes are critical to attracting global talent, thereby boosting the innovative capabilities of these startups. The race for intellectual capital is predominantly among major players such as the US, China and the UK. The study provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs and investors, highlighting how accelerator programmes can effectively support startup growth and innovation, especially in emerging technology areas such as AI.

THE ROLE OF STARTUP ACCELERATORS IN THE ECONOMY WITH THE EXAMPLE OF Y COMBINATOR

Startups have their special place and role in the economy and accelerate their development by embracing various branches of economic activity. In this regard, the elements of the startup ecosystem are of great importance in the development and establishment of startups, which, interacting with each other, create an appropriate environment for their growth and establishment. One of those elements is the startup accelerator. Worldwide, startup accelerators are very popular among young entrepreneurs, as they provide startups with a great opportunity to grow fast. The article presents the importance of accelerators in startup ecosystems, studying their impact on the economy using the example of the Y Combinator startup accelerator. The work examined the organizations in which Y Combinator invested. It also analyzed the impact of investments on the economy. As a result of the work, the necessity and effectiveness of accelerators as an important component of economic development were substantiated. In the research, we suggested developing an acceleration program in those sectors where we have the possibility to go to scale with minimal resources. To solve this problem, we need to cooperate with the leading startup accelerators in the field to avoid a number of mistakes and get access to great resources.

Trigger points and high growth firms: the vital role of founder “sensing” and “seizing” capabilities

PurposeResearch on high growth firms is booming yet a strong conceptual understanding of how these firms obtain (and sustain) rapid growth remains (at best) partial. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the role founders play in enabling episodes of rapid growth and how they help navigate this process.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs enlisted onto a publicly funded high growth business accelerator programme in Wales. These interviews explored the causes of the firms rapid growth, their key growth trigger points and the organisational consequences of rapid growth.FindingsThe research reveals that periods of high growth are intrinsically and inextricably inter-linked with the entrepreneurial traits and capabilities of their founders coupled with their ability to “sense” and “seize” pivotal growth opportunities. It also demonstrates founder-level dynamic capabilities enable firms to capitalise on pivotal “trigger points” thereby enabling their progression to a new “dynamic state” in a firm’s temporal evolution.Originality/valueThe novel approach towards theory building deployed herein is the use of theoretical elaboration as means of extending important existing theoretical constructs such as growth “trigger points” and founder dynamic capabilities. To capitalise on these trigger points, founders have to undergo a process of “temporal transitioning” to effectively manage and execute the growth process in firms. The work also has important policy implications, underlining the need for more relational forms of support for entrepreneurial founders.

Going online: Peer entrepreneur networks in a startup accelerator before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

A key value proposition of startup accelerators is the creation of social networks among participating entrepreneurs. The formation of these so-called “peer entrepreneur networks” is assumed to be strengthened by physical proximity within the accelerator, which facilitates the creation of trust and opportunities for informal, and often serendipitous, interactions. However, in response to the global spread of COVID-19, accelerators abruptly shifted their programs online, thereby allowing a rare opportunity to test the veracity of the assumption that physical proximity drives social connectivity. To understand how this shift affected peer entrepreneur networks, we compare longitudinal network data of two consecutive cohorts of the same accelerator: one offline-before, and one online-during, the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from the literature on physical proximity and interaction ritual theory, we show that in the online (compared to the offline) program, peer entrepreneur networks became less dense, entrepreneurs reached fewer peers via indirect connections, and clustering increased. We discuss contributions to theory on peer entrepreneur networks and startup accelerators.

The role of business accelerators and incubators in supporting entrepreneurial projects in the entertainment sector and their impact on domestic tourism in the Kingdom in light of the Covid-19 pandemic

نتيجة التحديات التي واجهتها المملكة في ظل جائحة كوفيد -19 من ركود اقتصادي وآثار سلبية اقتصادية واجتماعية ، عزمت المملكة جهدها لتخطي الأزمة ، ونجحت بما أولته من اهتمام كبير لقطاع الترفيه ، ساعد على نهضته وتطوره وانعكس إيجاباً على السياحة الداخلية بالمملكة ، من خلال إنشاء حاضنات ومسرعات أعمال ترفيه التي كان لها أكبر الأثر في دعم المشاريع الريادية الناشئة ورواد الأعمال ، فأصبح قطاع الترفيه والسياحة الداخلية بالمملكة موردين اقتصاديين مهمين ، جعلا المملكة في مصاف دول العالم وأصبحت واجهة اقتصادية هامة لجذب السواح من الداخل والخارج ، اعتمدت الدراسة الحالية المنهج الوصفي التحليلي واستخدمت الاستبانة كأداة لجمع البيانات ، وتمثل مجتمع الدراسة من جميع رواد الأعمال من أصحاب المشاريع الريادية الناشئة والمحتضنة في مسرعات وحاضنات أعمال ترفيه بالإضافة للمستثمرين في قطاعي الترفيه والسياحة الداخلية في المملكة ، أما عينة الدراسة فكانت عبارة عن 12 شركة ريادية محتضنة ، أشارت نتائج الدراسة على وجود أثر لمسرعات وحاضنات الأعمال على نجاح المشاريع الريادية ، ووجود علاقة بين تطور الترفيه وتطور السياحة الداخلية بالمملكة ،وكانت أبرز التوصيات زيادة عدد المسرعات والحاضنات في قطاع الترفيه بالمملكة.

Coming from a Good Pond: The Influence of a New Venture’s Founding Ecosystem on Accelerator Performance

Startup accelerators, which aim to improve the set of choices representing a startup’s entry strategy, have become increasingly influential in both regional development and the strategies of individual startups. This article explores an accelerator’s impact on startup performance and whether that impact varies substantially by features of the startup’s founding environment. Leveraging data from a leading startup accelerator, I use a regression discontinuity framework to hold startup quality constant so that I can compare the performance of admitted startups to those that do not make the cut, and I examine whether any observed performance differentials are driven by accelerator admission and by characteristics of the startup’s earlier environment. I find evidence that startups from better pre-accelerator environments experience stronger gains from accelerator admission. I also find evidence of home bias, as local startups have a stronger treatment effect. These results provide evidence of ecosystem effects whereby the impact of one organizational sponsor in an ecosystem is strongly moderated by other features in the ecosystem. The findings help to explain the concentration of accelerator programs in already successful entrepreneurial ecosystems and reveal how such programs may interact with founding environments to complement resource abundance or magnify prior resource inequalities.

АНАЛІЗ КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ ЦИФРОВОГО БАНКІНГУ В УКРАЇНІ

The article analyzes the state of digital banking in Ukraine in order to identify the competitiveness of this sector of the economy. The Ukrainian banking system has gradually accustomed its consumers to the technology of services and the digital environment, using the latest technologies and introducing them into its activities at all levels. Accordingly, the latest technologies are used, high service and interesting applications are offered, which are pleasant and convenient to use. At the same time, the approach to all banking operations is changing, they are becoming increasingly easy, fast and convenient and do not involve visits to branches at the physical level. In total, 66 banks operate in Ukraine, among which only 5 are included in the list of systemically important banks of Ukraine: JSC "KB PrivatBank", JSC "Oshchadbank", JSC "PumbBank", "Sense Bank" and "Monobank". The article compares the activities of Ukrainian banks according to the following indicators: Number of employees, Number of customers, types of cards, cashback, availability of partner programs, Annual interest on the loan, Grace period, Credit limit without collateral, Annual interest on the deposit. The dynamics of the main financial indicators of the mentioned competitors in the digital banking market of Ukraine were also studied: net profit, net interest income, and commission income. It has been established that the largest technological banks in Ukraine have joint projects with fintech companies. The exception is "PrivatBank", which has its own powerful development center. PrivatBank continues the active digitization of its services and financial services, which have long since gone beyond classical banking and are forming a new digital ecosystem in Ukraine at the junction of financial services, retail and e-commerce. In addition, Ukrainian banks have their own centers for incubation and acceleration of startups – they expect to receive a return from them in the form of innovative products and services that can be implemented in themselves.

Start‐up Accelerators as Service Design and Business Model

AbstractStartup accelerators offer a range of services to entrepreneurs that enable them to accelerate growth and development in just a few months. Typically, small‐, and medium‐sized, growth‐oriented companies are supported early in their development through offers of education and training, mentoring, consulting, and venture capital. The startup accelerator “Growth Train” of Business Lolland‐Falster – a regional development organization in Denmark, has been the subject of a closer investigation as a service journey and business model. Four distinct factors make accelerators unique: time‐limited, cohort‐based (a standard course for a selected group), mentor‐driven, and typically ends with a ‘demo day’. The analysis of Growth Train is based on Service Design Thinking and theories on Business Models. It contributes to the theoretical understanding of startup accelerators as a service journey for the participating startups where Service‐Design Thinking plays a crucial role in the design of the accelerator. It also explains how the accelerators create value for the selected group of startups. Startup accelerators also represent a Business Model (value proposition) for the managers of the accelerators and the stakeholders in the local business ecosystem. It also offers economic growth and employment for outlying areas like Lolland‐Falster in Denmark.

Accelerator-mediated access to investors among early-stage start-ups

AbstractWe study start-up accelerators, a new type of entrepreneurial support organization characterized by its coaching of regular cohorts of startup founders, that developed rapidly after pioneer accelerator Y-Combinator, founded in 2005, had ‘accelerated’ success stories Dropbox and AirBnB among others. We suggest that accelerators can be analysed as platforms whose function is to relate start-ups and investors within entrepreneurial ecosystems. According to our analysis, leading accelerators play a mediating role in enabling entrepreneurs to attract investors with a higher profile than they would have otherwise. Using propensity score matching, we compare participants to several accelerator programs in North America with similar non-participating start-ups. We measure the prominence of their investors using their centrality in the investor-network. For several top-tier accelerators, we observe that start-ups who participated in their programs attracted higher profile investors than other similar start-ups that were not accelerated. Furthermore, among accelerators, pioneer Y-Combinator appears to benefit from a winner-takes-all effect, which is typical of platform competition: Not only do investors it connects its participant startups to appear to be of a higher profile, but it is also the only accelerator in our sample whose participants gain access to an amount of early-stage funding that is significantly higher than those raised by the control group.

Unpacking the nonlinear effect of self‐efficacy in entrepreneurship: Why and under which condition more is not better

AbstractSelf‐efficacy exerts a positive impact on several self‐regulatory functions to support goal accomplishment and performance. However, in contexts that are characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity, such as entrepreneurship, there might be a tipping point to this relationship, prompting calls for deeper investigations on the nonlinear effect. In particular, the underlying mechanisms explaining why and when the nonlinear effect occurs are unclear. Drawing on theories of self‐regulation, we examine the nonlinear effect of entrepreneurial self‐efficacy on venture goal progress through the entrepreneur's active feedback‐seeking and venture effort. We also propose that the entrepreneur's state error mastery orientation moderates the nonlinear effect. Conducting a six‐wave repeated measures study among 84 early‐stage entrepreneurs in a business accelerator in the Philippines, we use a within‐person approach to test our hypotheses and research model. Results suggest that self‐regulatory mechanisms in terms of feedback seeking, effort, and state error mastery orientation help to unpack why and when self‐efficacy exerts a nonlinear effect on performance outcomes.

Blackbaud announces latest round of companies for Social Good Startup accelerator program

Blackbaud announces latest round of companies for Social Good Startup accelerator program

Corporate accelerators: design and startup performance

Corporate accelerators (CAs) have emerged as a key component of entrepreneurship ecosystems, offering startups corporate guidance, industry connections, and resources for accelerated venture creation. Although their proliferation is evident, we still know little about the value they produce for startups across different contexts. This study investigates the organizational setup and program design of 15 CAs in Germany using a unique and hand-collected dataset of 223 alumni startups. Our findings reveal a tradeoff: Specialized and integrated programs positively impact startups’ speed to market and growth, while specialization and rising corporate control may hinder follow-up venture capital financing. This research contributes to our understanding of CAs and the startup acceleration process and provides insights for corporate and accelerator managers and startups alike. Startups can use these findings to identify the most suitable CA for their needs. Program managers and designers gain insights into the strategic orientation and organizational setup that positively impact startup acceleration.

Education as a co-developed commodity in Finland? A rhetorical discourse analysis on business accelerator for EdTech startups

ABSTRACT Education business and the actors involved in it have gained increasing global attention. However, little is known about the commercial actors participating in mainly publicly maintained comprehensive schooling in Finland and how the roles of teachers and schools are seen in this edu-business. In this article, we analyze ‘edu-business acceleration’ by a Finnish company, xEdu, that develops EdTech startups for the global education market. Using rhetorical discourse analysis, this case study identifies and analyzes xEdu’s aims for EdTech business in Finland, focusing particularly on the role assigned to teachers and schools in the business. Through these discourses, xEdu wishes to ‘scale up’ Finnish comprehensive schooling by utilizing both the reputation of Finnish education and the expertise of Finnish teachers. Building on a framework of the global education industry, we discuss the dominant EdTech discourses surrounding Finnish comprehensive schooling and how they are legitimized and promoted by versatile rhetorical means.

Building start-up acceleration capability: A dynamic capability framework for collaboration with start-ups

In today's dynamic business landscape, large corporations are increasingly recognizing the value of collaboration with start-ups as a means to drive innovation, explore new market opportunities, and gain a competitive edge. To fully leverage the potential of such collaborations, these corporations need to develop specific capabilities that enable them to effectively identify, seize, and capitalize on promising collaboration opportunities. The primary goal of this research work is to propose the concept of Start-up Acceleration Capability (SAC) as a higher-order dynamic capability that enables large corporations to fully leverage collaboration with start-ups. The paper begins by reviewing the relevant literature on corporate-start-up collaboration and provides an overview of the dynamic capability framework and its micro-foundations. Subsequently, SAC is defined as a dynamic capability that combines three key components: sensing, seizing, and (re)configuring. Each component is examined in detail, highlighting the key micro-foundations that underpin its effectiveness and success. The findings provide valuable guidance for practitioners seeking to develop and strengthen SAC within their organizations and contribute to the existing literature on collaboration with start-ups, innovation management, and entrepreneurship. This research aims to advance knowledge and understanding in the field and provide guidance to practitioners and scholars seeking to maximize the value of start-up collaborations.

Accelerator cohort social network structure and startup performance

Startup accelerators have become a widespread means of supporting entrepreneurs and their ventures. Yet, deductive empirical research explaining and predicting peer effects in startup accelerator cohorts is wanting. Following cues from the theoretical and empirical literatures, we hypothesize and find that higher performing cohorts have more connections between peer startups. This suggests that beyond merely acting as brokers, accelerators enable potentially valuable peer effects. However, as the dark side of density literature suggests, we also hypothesize an inverse curvilinear relationship between cohort peer network density and likelihood that a cohort will produce a unicorn. In this research, we measure the performance of the Startup Accelerator cohort in terms of the number of startups with high valuations in the cohort. High valuation startups were identified by Techstars on their 2019 Top 50 startups list featuring graduates from their accelerator. We approximate the intra-cohort social network structures of 1537 startups comprising 154 Techstars cohorts using their activity on Twitter. We find that there exists an upper limit to the impact of cohort network density on performance, after which any further increase becomes negative.

DYNAMIC DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING THE MARKET POTENTIAL AND SUCCESS OF INNOVATIVE STARTUPS ON THE BASIS OF A MARKETING RESEARCH APPROACH USING R

Currently, the world is highly dependent on technological advancements and innovations (TAI) being the key driver of economic growth, competitiveness, and overall societal progress. And high-tech startups are at the forefront of TAI, developing new products and services that meet the growing needs of consumers. Over the past decades, the quantity and quality of startups have increased significantly, however, they are still known for high risks and low success rates, which often lead to financial losses for investors and startup founders. Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop a dynamic decision-making framework for evaluating the market potential and success rates of innovative startups throughout their lifecycle on the basis of a marketing research approach using R programming language to provide a unique solution for startup founders, investors, business incubators, startup accelerators, tech hubs, etc. As a result, a new methodology for evaluating the market potential and success rates of innovative startups was proposed based on T. L. Saaty’s analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology. Taking into account the fact that AHP is based on expert opinions, it was proposed to divide experts into five groups – scientific specialists, investors representatives, manufacturers representatives, practicing startup entrepreneurs, business incubators & startup accelerators representatives. Each group of experts determined the degrees of preference between the proposed criteria and sub-criteria of each of the three components of startup attractiveness – market, marketing and investment attractiveness of the startup project. The decision-making framework was created and tested in the RStudio software environment based on the ‘ahp’ package and can be used by startup founders, investors, and other stakeholders on a regular basis as new information about their projects becomes available.

Novartis Oncology Spain: Agile innovation and the RWE cell

Healthcare and life science companies are transforming their business models from product development toward precision medicine. Vasant Narasimhan was appointed in 2018 as the new CEO of Novartis—a global pharma company. He champions a multi-faceted strategic intent: 1) transform the company from “selling pills” to investing heavily in discovering of new treatments that combine life sciences and digital technologies. In Spain, José Marcilla, the Director General of Novartis Oncology, pioneered an organizational transformation by developing (1) a cell-based innovation organization and process and (2) a new startup accelerator. This case explores both initiatives and their far-reaching consequences. The “Spanish experiment” helped to develop of digital services that reach the patient in a highly regulated environment. This duo of cases—Novartis Oncology Spain: Agile Innovation and The RWE (real wold evidence) Cell—gives students the opportunity to examine the motivations behind the transformation at Novartis, explore the implementation of its strategic intent, and ask what is the appropriate pace for such a dramatic change. The case is taught as a single class for decision-making regarding which cells and startups are suitable to be continued given the innovation horizons. By walking with students through these innovation horizons, the case enables decisions to be made about whether this pioneering Spanish program should be continued or not.