Startups in a corporate accelerator: what is satisfying, what is relevant and what can corporates improve

Abstract

Corporate accelerators have emerged rapidly over the last few years and have become a cross-industrial global phenomenon. Established companies interact with startups through these programmes in a structured approach. Recent academic research shows that programmes exist with diverse characteristics, providing various resources and services such as investment capital, office space, mentoring or training to the startups. Currently, the corporate accelerator landscape is undergoing change, with companies adjusting their programme characteristics. One reason for this development seems to be that companies struggle to provide the right resources to startups. The extant corporate accelerator literature, however, does not provide any insights into the value of the different resources provided to startups in such programmes. Thus, we analyse, empirically and in-depth, one of the longest active corporate accelerator programmes, taking the startups' perspective. Investigating Wayra, the corporate accelerator of Telefonica in Germany, we shed light on what is satisfying, what is relevant and what corporates can improve on.