Understanding the Interplay Between Startups and Accelerators for Early-Stage Resource Mobilization

Davide Moiana, Jacopo Manotti, Antonio Ghezzi, Andrea Rangone

2024

Abstract

Startups, representing the engine of innovation and technology entrepreneurship, face the challenge of securing resources for sustainable growth while generating innovative solutions. Startup accelerators have rapidly emerged as prominent players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing resources, mentorship and training to startups. However, a deeper analysis of how startups approach accelerator programmes is often overlooked in the literature. Drawing on a multiple case study of 9 AI-based startups located in Italy that participated in different acceleration programmes, we explore how startups’ teams engage with acceleration programs. We find that early-stage startups engage with accelerators that focus on learning and validation mechanisms with the aim of searching for and accessing human capital, while they turn to accelerators that focus on access and reach mechanisms with the aim of pursuing market access and scaling objectives. The implication of these research could benefit both theory and practice by enhancing the understanding of the interplay between startups and accelerator programs, and by offering insights to founders to align participation with the stage and goals of their startups.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Moiana D., Manotti J., Ghezzi A. and Rangone A. (2024). Understanding the Interplay Between Startups and Accelerators for Early-Stage Resource Mobilization. In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS; ISBN 978-989-758-692-7, SciTePress, pages 688-695. DOI: 10.5220/0012614300003690

in Bibtex Style

@conference{iceis24,
author={Davide Moiana and Jacopo Manotti and Antonio Ghezzi and Andrea Rangone},
title={Understanding the Interplay Between Startups and Accelerators for Early-Stage Resource Mobilization},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS},
year={2024},
pages={688-695},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012614300003690},
isbn={978-989-758-692-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS
TI - Understanding the Interplay Between Startups and Accelerators for Early-Stage Resource Mobilization
SN - 978-989-758-692-7
AU - Moiana D.
AU - Manotti J.
AU - Ghezzi A.
AU - Rangone A.
PY - 2024
SP - 688
EP - 695
DO - 10.5220/0012614300003690
PB - SciTePress