Introduction to Corporate Accelerators: Startup Performance

It is an overview to introduction to corporate accelerators and its research about getting providing startups a place that promotes development and growth.

This post represents a series of articles related to a research and dissertation called “Are corporate accelerators springboards for startups: a performance analysis of the Microsoft’s and Google’s accelerated.

1.1 Background of the Introduction to Corporate Accelerators

Startup accelerators have emerged in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as spaces of mentorship and coaching, offering early-stage startups support through funding, guidance, and networking opportunities for enhanced output. Accelerators in all their forms and shapes, there are a type associated with enterprises called corporate accelerators (CAs) which have gained importance as projects sponsored by large corporations to strategically foster innovation and gain terrain in new fields. Unlike independent accelerators, corporate accelerators operate within an industry-specific framework (the “patreon's” field of knowledge) and leverage corporate resources to manage the start and growth of startups (Kohler, 2016).

Google and Microsoft have known corporate accelerator programs that provides startups with access to state-of-the-art technology, networking with like-minded entrepreneurs and funding opportunities. These programs foster innovation in areas such as:

• artificial intelligence,
• cloud computing,
• digital transformation.

While the benefits that startups harvest when they participate in such programs are acknowledged, the actual impact on its output and performance are subject of debate. Some studies suggest that accelerators act as “springboards” helping startups increase funding and reducing risks, and improving their operations simultaneously; while others argue that they may serve as “sand traps,” providing limited benefits in the long term beyond initial networking opportunities, which results in not taking off (Hallen et al., 2022).

Despite corporate accelerators exist worldwide, their effectiveness is not uniform or predictable (as explained in the section “literature review”). This dissertation aims to assess whether corporate accelerators truly benefits startups performance and survival and to what extent Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerator programs have influenced success of participating startups.

1.2 Research in Question

The role of corporate accelerators in driving startup success remains an open question in the literature. While traditional accelerators have been well studied, corporate accelerators have received in comparison less empirical scrutiny. The core research problem of this dissertation is whether participation in Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerator programs considerably boosts its startup's successes.

Several key questions emerge from this problem:

1. Do corporate accelerators actually serve as springboards for startups, leading to long-term growth and investment?
2. Are there measurable performance keypoints between startups that participated in Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerator programs and those that did not? If so, which are they?
3. Are there specific services of these accelerators (mentorship and coaching, funding opportunities, access to top notch technology, etc) that contribute significantly to startup success and long term growth?
4. Are the effects of corporate acceleration uniform across different industries and technology markets?

Introduction to Corporate Accelerators as Long-Term Enhancements

Empirical studies have provided mixed results regarding the effectiveness of accelerators. Some research suggests that while accelerators improve a startup's visibility, they do not necessarily guarantee long-term sustainability (Chowdhury & Audretsch, 2023). Others indicate that the structured guidance offered by accelerators significantly enhances the likelihood of obtaining high-status investors and forming strategic alliances (Seitz et al., 2023).

Given these conflicting findings, this study seeks to conduct a performance analysis of startups accelerated by Google and Microsoft, providing empirical evidence to determine whether corporate accelerators deliver tangible benefits to participating startups.

1.3 Objectives of the Dissertation

The main goal is the evaluation of Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerator programs impact and performance of newcomers of the startup environment. Additionally, the understanding of similar startup accelerators and their results. These are the objectives:

1. Calculate KPIs (key performance indicators) of startups that participates in CAs.
2. To compare the effectiveness of Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerator programs.
3. To identify which are the critical factors of post-acceleration success.
4. To analyse whether the benefits of its acceleration are maintained in the long run or if they shrink after the conclusion of the program.

By addressing these objectives, this dissertation will provide a comprehensive understanding of whether corporate accelerators promotes startup success or if their advantages, if any, are overstated.

1.4 Structure of the Dissertation

This dissertation is structured into five chapters, each of those address and develops its main idea: Are corporate accelerators springboards or sand traps for startups?

Chapter 1: Introduction to Corporate Accelerators

It presents a background of the study and provides with context and familiarity to the reader, defines the research problem in question, outlines objectives, and provides an extended index.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The literature review provides an overview of existing studies on startup accelerators, corporate accelerators, and experiences of startup performance. It synthesises concepts, key ideas, terminology and findings from the ten selected academic sources.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

It describes how the research was designed including data collection methods and statistical techniques used to analyse startups that participated in Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerators programs. It comes from the database of the website Crunchbase. It outlines the variables considered, such as funding rounds, survival rate, IPO exits, etc. Finally, it explains regression analysis and ANOVA method as analytical tools.

Chapter 4: Analysis and Results

It presents the findings of the empirical evidence (from the database) and it subsecuent analysis, comparing the performance of Google’s and Microsoft’s accelerators programs. It discusses trends, similarities or differences depending on the case, correlations, and further interpretations in outcomes based on accelerator participation and results.

Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion

In this section, a complete recompilation of results and interpretation in the whole context will be presented. It interprets the findings in the context of the presented literature, discusses theoretical and practical implications from results, acknowledges limitations or other precautions, and suggests possible paths for future research. It concludes with assertive evidence whether corporate accelerators are effective mechanisms for startup success or not.

Moving Forward on Introduction to Corporate Accelerators

This dissertation seeks to understand corporate accelerators, their role in success of startups, advantages and fields of aplication. By focusing on Google’s and Microsoft’s programs, it aims to provide empirical evidence on whether corporate acceleration actually works for startups in fostering long-term growth or merely a short-term boost for the corporations instead. The findings are aimed for startup founders, investors, and innovation managers regarding valuable insights of accelerator participation regarding the highly competitive entrepreneurial environment.

References.

1. Assenova, V., & Amit, R. (2024). The impact of accelerator participation on startup performance: An empirical assessment. Entrepreneurship Development Program.
2. Canovas-Saiz, L., March-Chordà, I., & Yagüe-Perales, R. M. (2021). A quantitative-based model to assess seed accelerators’ performance. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2021.1872941
3. Chowdhury, F., & Audretsch, D. B. (2023). Paradoxes of accelerator programs and new venture performance: Do varieties of experiences make a difference? Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00778-y
4. Fehder, D. C. (2023). Coming from a good pond: The influence of a new venture’s founding ecosystem on accelerator performance. Administrative Science Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392231204839
5. Hallen, B. L., Cohen, S. L., & Park, S. H. (2022). Are seed accelerators status springboards for startups? Or sand traps? Strategic Management Journal, 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3484
6. Kohler, T. (2016). Corporate accelerators: Building bridges between corporations and startups. Business Horizons, 59(3), 347-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2016.01.008
7. LO VERSO, A. (2022). How do corporate accelerators influence startups’ performance? An empirical analysis of vertical and horizontal corporate accelerators. Master’s Thesis, University of Palermo.
8. Mishigragchaa, B. (2017). Accelerators as a tool to support startup ventures: Assessing their performance and success factors. Proceedings of the International Entrepreneurship Forum.
9. Sarto, N. D., Cruz Cazares, C., & Di Minin, A. (2022). Startup accelerators as an open environment: The impact on startups’ innovative performance. Technovation, 113, 102425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2021.102425
10. Seitz, N., Krieger, B., Mauer, R., & Brettel, M. (2023). Corporate accelerators: Design and startup performance. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00732-y
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