The Corporate Accelerator: A New Kind of Strategic Factor Market to Access Strategic Resources

Abstract

Corporate accelerators are often viewed as a way to capture innovation from startups. In this study, we present a fresh understanding of the specific role of corporate accelerators in accessing a number of strategic resources held by startups other than innovation. This research study explores the ways in which corporations use corporate accelerators to acquire resources held within the strategic factor markets in which startups compete. Using six in-depth case studies of corporate accelerators and 43 interviews with accelerators, corporations, and startups, we investigate the type of strategic resources that can be accessed by firms via corporate accelerators. We also explain the dynamics through which corporations gain access to some of these strategic resources.