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Journal article
A life cycle perspective of startup accelerators
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol.20, pp.327-343
2024
Abstract
Accelerators are broadly seen as platforms that government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations use to fast-track the development of entrepreneurial and SME business capabilities. Typically, this occurs as competitive, time-constrained, cohort-centered, authentic learning experiences supported by mentoring and access to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, management development programs, and financial resources. Interest in how the ventures in the development programs evolve and contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem is increasing (Cantner et al. in Small Business Economics , 57 , 407–423, 2021), but how the accelerators evolve has yet to be adequately researched. To better understand how accelerators evolve, we adapt Churchill and Lewis ( Harvard Business Review , 61 (3), 30–50, 1983) conceptual framework of the stages of small business development. This study investigated the life cycle of Australian accelerators from 2013 to 2020. The accelerators ranged from short-term “pop-up” programs to permanent programs. We found through a series of four selected exemplar case studies that these accelerators exhibited a similar four-stage life cycle to their participants, including (1) gestation, (2) survival, (3) viability, and (4) decline or renewal. We also found that external support was a critical issue that determined viability. Our findings support the development of accelerator management to be more agile, resilient, and entrepreneurial, which can confront those adopting a more standardized franchise model. In addition, we adapt Kohler ( Business Horizons , 59 (3), 347–357, 2016) work on corporate accelerators into an inclusive framework for all forms of accelerators, including considering their geographic context or Place, the actors involved with the accelerator or its People, the accelerator’s value Proposition to participants, the accelerator’s Processes and most fundamentally, its Purpose that will contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem practice and literature. This research provides practical considerations on positioning, suitable business models, and maximized operations.
Details
- Title
- A life cycle perspective of startup accelerators
- Authors
- Saskia de Klerk (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesMorgan P. Miles (Author) - The University of QueenslandMartin Bliemel (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
- Publication details
- International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol.20, pp.327-343
- Publisher
- Springer New York LLC
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11365-023-00933-7
- ISSN
- 1555-1938; 1554-7191
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99991179302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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