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The Business of Accelerating the Acceleration of Startups David Wai Lun NG Singapore Management University, [email protected]

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The Business of Accelerating the Acceleration of Startups David Wai Lun NG Singapore Management University, David.Ng.2014@Phdgm.Smu.Edu.Sg Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access) Dissertations and Theses 12-2018 The business of accelerating the acceleration of startups David Wai Lun NG Singapore Management University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll Part of the Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons, and the Strategic Management Policy Commons Citation NG, David Wai Lun. The business of accelerating the acceleration of startups. (2018). Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access). Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/186 This PhD Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access) by an authorized administrator of Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. For more information, please email [email protected]. SMU Classification: Restricted “THE BUSINESS OF ACCELERATING THE ACCELERATION OF STARTUPS” A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BUSINESS ACCELERATORS THROUGH A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH DAVID NG WAI LUN SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY 2018 “The Business of Accelerating the Acceleration of Startups” A Study on the Effectiveness of Business Accelerators through a mixed-methods approach by David Ng Wai Lun Submitted to the Lee Kong Chian School of Business in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business (General Management) Dissertation Committee: Anne-Valerie Ohlsson-Corboz (Supervisor / Chair) Assistant Professor of Strategic Management (Practice) Singapore Management University Philip Charles Zerrillo Professor of Marketing (Practice), Academic Director Singapore Management University Vicente Katigbak Fabella President Jose Rizal University, the Philippines Singapore Management University 2018 David Ng Wai Lun Declaration I hereby declare that this dissertation is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in this dissertation. This dissertation has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. David Ng Wai Lun 17 December 2018 “The Business of Accelerating the Acceleration of Startups” A Study on the Effectiveness of Business Accelerators through a mixed-methods approach by David Ng Wai Lun Abstract The cross-domain and cross-border aspects of the Business Accelerator sector has resulted in an ecosystem that has seen actors in the space jostle for clear and competitive positioning. The evolution of Business Accelerators as a business entity, seeking to supply positive interventions to the journey of start-ups, is common to all growth and innovation orientated ecosystems. The ability for Business Accelerator managers to demonstrably impact their subject acceleratees positively has been an under-researched area. Against this background is the rising volume of capital being channeled into funding startups due to the widespread drive for innovation led growth which is increasingly the cornerstone of industry policy. Gaining a better understanding of the role of what interventions support the success of new ventures is the focus of this research work. This research follows a mixed-methods research approach to gain insights into the impact of Business Accelerators on startups. A survey of a sample of accelerated and non-accelerated companies was conducted to explore their impact on performance outcomes. The study further explored six dimensions of managerial activities and capabilities to understand if these dimensions could explain observed differences in performance. The analysis concluded no significant differences existed in the performance outcomes of accelerated versus non- accelerated startups. A further phase of research built upon these findings by selecting two companies that had been through an acceleration program, one being classed as successful and one unsuccessful. Case studies involving interviews of the founders and members of the accelerator program management were then conducted. In addition, a review of other materials including program materials to distil key factors that contrasted the companies and their experiences with acceleration programs was conducted. The key findings of these case studies suggest that Business Accelerators can have a positive impact on companies by focusing founders on prioritizing a detailed execution-orientation, including regular communication with all stakeholders in the program. Experienced key program resources such as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Program Managers, suitable mentors and open relationships with fellow cohort startups were noted as sources of intervention which could impact success. Keywords: Business Accelerators; Incubators; Venture builders; Startups; Effectuation; Execution-orientation; Strategy execution; Market-centricity Table of Contents Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi “THE BUSINESS OF ACCELERATING THE ACCELERATION OF STARTUPS” ...... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Research Motivation ................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Research Purpose ..................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Accelerators as complex business entities: .............................................................. 5 1.4. Summary of Chapter ................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................. 7 2.1. Background on Literature Review and Scope ......................................................... 7 2.2. Industry Context on Business Accelerators ............................................................. 7 2.3. Models and Frameworks .......................................................................................... 9 2.3.1. Incubators as Forerunners to Accelerators ........................................................ 9 2.3.2. The Advent of Accelerators..............................................................................11 2.4. Structure and Sponsorship Influences .................................................................... 15 2.5. New models and Other Perspectives...................................................................... 20 2.6. Practice and Policy ................................................................................................. 21 2.6.1. Key Industry Considerations.......................................................................... 21 i 2.6.2. Financial Context of Capital Investments ...................................................... 24 2.7. Initial Hypotheses from Extant Literature ............................................................. 25 Chapter 3. Research Design & Methods .......................................................................... 26 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 26 3.2. A Mixed-Methods Approach .................................................................................. 28 3.3. Practical Industry Considerations: ......................................................................... 31 3.4. Summary of Overall Approach .............................................................................. 33 Chapter 4. Phase 1 Results, Summary and Assessment ................................................... 33 4.1. Phase 1 Design and Approach: .............................................................................. 33 4.2. Selection of Interview Subjects: ............................................................................ 34 4.3. Coding of Answers and Theme Extraction: ........................................................... 36 4.4. Summary of Phase 1 interviews:............................................................................ 37 Chapter 5. Hypotheses Development:.............................................................................. 39 5.1. Literature Review and Phase 1 Results .................................................................. 39 5.2. Proposed Independent Variables ............................................................................ 40 5.3 Hypotheses Linking Successful Startups to Positive Behaviors ............................. 44 5.3.1. Accelerators Have a Positive Impact on Startup Success: .............................. 44 5.3.2. Market-centric behaviors promote ‘success’ in startups ............................... 45 5.3.3. Execution-centric behaviors promote ‘success’ in startups ............................ 45 5.3.4 Network-centric behaviors promote ‘success’ in startups ............................... 45 ii 5.3.5 Business-management expertise skills promote ‘success’ in startups ............. 46 5.3.6 Entrepreneurial-spirit promotes ‘success’ at startups......................................
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