IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/100107.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Start-up factories, transnational entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems: unpacking the lure of start-up accelerator programmes

Author

Listed:
  • Brown, Ross
  • Mawson, Suzanne
  • Lee, Neil

Abstract

This paper examines the role of accelerator programmes in promoting transnational entrepreneurship. Designed to assist the growth of start-ups by providing seed finance and structured entrepreneurship support, these programmes are now a prominent feature in many entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world. Drawing on in-depth qualitative evidence focused on one particular programme, the paper shows accelerators play an important intermediary or ‘brokerage mechanism’ providing start-ups with enhanced relational connections and networks. Transnational entrepreneurs attracted to these programmes are highly focused on exploiting these networks whilst maintaining multiple levels of embeddedness in various contexts to maximize the opportunities afforded by accelerators. While many governments are attempting to replicate accelerators programmes within the public sector, the paper concludes that such attempts may prove problematic within weaker entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, Ross & Mawson, Suzanne & Lee, Neil, 2019. "Start-up factories, transnational entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems: unpacking the lure of start-up accelerator programmes," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100107, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:100107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/100107/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siri Terjesen & Amanda Elam, 2009. "Transnational Entrepreneurs‘ Venture Internationalization Strategies: A Practice Theory Approach," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(5), pages 1093-1120, September.
    2. Allan L. Riding, 2008. "Business angels and love money investors: segments of the informal market for risk capital," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 355-369, June.
    3. Howells, Jeremy, 2006. "Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 715-728, June.
    4. Jennifer M. Sequeira & Jon C. Carr & Abdul A. Rasheed, 2009. "Transnational Entrepreneurship: Determinants of Firm Type and Owner Attributions of Success," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(5), pages 1023-1044, September.
    5. Erik Stam, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Regional Policy: A Sympathetic Critique," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(9), pages 1759-1769, September.
    6. Sarika Pruthi & Anuradha Basu & Mike Wright, 2018. "Ethnic ties, motivations, and home country entry strategy of transnational entrepreneurs," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 210-243, June.
    7. Wadid Lamine & Sarfraz Mian & Alain Fayolle & Mike Wright & Magnus Klofsten & Henry Etzkowitz, 2018. "Technology business incubation mechanisms and sustainable regional development," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 1121-1141, October.
    8. Robert Huggins & David Waite & Max Munday, 2018. "New directions in regional innovation policy: a network model for generating entrepreneurship and economic development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(9), pages 1294-1304, September.
    9. Dimitratos, Pavlos & Buck, Trevor & Fletcher, Margaret & Li, Nicolas, 2016. "The motivation of international entrepreneurship: The case of Chinese transnational entrepreneurs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1103-1113.
    10. Wenhong Chen & Justin Tan, 2009. "Understanding Transnational Entrepreneurship Through a Network Lens: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(5), pages 1079-1091, September.
    11. Janna Alvedalen & Ron Boschma, 2017. "A critical review of entrepreneurial ecosystems research: towards a future research agenda," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 887-903, June.
    12. Ross Brown & Colin Mason, 2017. "Looking inside the spiky bits: a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 11-30, June.
    13. Yael V. Hochberg, 2016. "Accelerating Entrepreneurs and Ecosystems: The Seed Accelerator Model," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 25-51.
    14. Kohler, Thomas, 2016. "Corporate accelerators: Building bridges between corporations and startups," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 347-357.
    15. Christian Livi & Hugues Jeannerat, 2015. "Born to be Sold: Start-ups as Products and New Territorial Life Cycles of Industrialization," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(10), pages 1953-1974, October.
    16. Gaofetoge Ntshadi Ganamotse & Mikael Samuelsson & Ruth, M. Abankwah & Tibaingana Anthony & Thuso Mphela, 2017. "The Emerging Properties of Business Accelerators: The Case of Botswana, Namibia and Uganda Global Business Labs," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 3(1), pages 16-40, January.
    17. Kim, Jin-Hyuk & Wagman, Liad, 2014. "Portfolio size and information disclosure: An analysis of startup accelerators," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 520-534.
    18. David M. Hart & Zoltán J. Ács, 2015. "High-Tech Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 31, pages 604-617, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Annalee Saxenian, 2002. "Transnational Communities and the Evolution of Global Production Networks: The Cases of Taiwan, China and India," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 183-202.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Kramer & Dominik K. Kanbach, 2023. "Relationship-building in the post-acceleration phase of corporate accelerators: empirical evidence from Germany," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 755-779, June.
    2. Rocha, Augusto & Brown, Ross & Mawson, Suzanne, 2021. "Capturing conversations in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    3. Solodoha, Eliran & Rosenzweig, Stav & Harel, Shai, 2023. "Incentivizing angels to invest in start-ups: Evidence from a natural experiment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    4. Ana Venâncio & João Jorge, 2022. "The role of accelerator programmes on the capital structure of start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1143-1167, October.
    5. Nasrin Sultana & Ekaterina Turkina, 2023. "Collaboration for Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem: The Role of Intermediaries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Siaw, Christopher Agyapong & Sarpong, David, 2021. "Dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation in ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 493-506.
    7. Kuebart, Andreas, 2022. "Open creative labs as functional infrastructure for entrepreneurial ecosystems: Using sequence analysis to explore tempo-spatial trajectories of startups in Berlin," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(9).
    8. Michał Bańka & Mariusz Salwin & Maria Kukurba & Szymon Rychlik & Joanna Kłos & Monika Sychowicz, 2022. "Start-Up Accelerators and Their Impact on Sustainability: Literature Analysis and Case Studies from the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-30, October.
    9. Emil Lucian Crișan & Irina Iulia Salanță & Ioana Natalia Beleiu & Ovidiu Niculae Bordean & Raluca Bunduchi, 2021. "A systematic literature review on accelerators," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 62-89, February.
    10. Michał Bańka & Mariusz Salwin & Roman Tylżanowski & Ireneusz Miciuła & Monika Sychowicz & Norbert Chmiel & Adrian Kopytowski, 2023. "Start-Up Accelerators and Their Impact on Entrepreneurship and Social Responsibility of the Manager," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-32, May.
    11. Navid Mohammadi & Shaghayegh Sakhteh, 2023. "Start-up accelerator value chain: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 661-694, June.
    12. Bańka Michał & Salwin Mariusz & Waszkiewicz Aneta Ewa & Rychlik Szymon & Kukurba Maria, 2022. "Startup Accelerators," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 58(1), pages 80-118, March.
    13. Wooseung Lee & Boyoung Kim, 2019. "Business Sustainability of Start-Ups Based on Government Support: An Empirical Study of Korean Start-Ups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Michael Neema, 2024. "Designing a Framework for Assessing Agripreneurship Action for the Green Scheme Irrigation Projects, Namibia," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 9(6), pages 42-62, February.
    15. Mariana Pita & Joana Costa & António Carrizo Moreira, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Entrepreneurial Initiative: Building a Multi-Country Taxonomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, April.
    16. Jana Schmutzler & Veneta Andonova & Jonathan Perez-Lopez, 2021. "The role of diaspora in opportunity-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems: A mixed-methods study of Balkan economies," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 693-729, June.
    17. Michal Banka & Mariusz Salwin & Dariusz Masłowski & Szymon Rychlik & Maria Kukurba, 2022. "Start-up Accelerator: State of the Art and Future Directions," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 477-510.
    18. Rocha, Augusto & Brown, Ross & Mawson, Suzanne, 2022. "Reprint of: Capturing conversations in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(9).
    19. Hannigan, Timothy R. & Briggs, Anthony R. & Valadao, Rodrigo & Seidel, Marc-David L. & Jennings, P. Devereaux, 2022. "A new tool for policymakers: Mapping cultural possibilities in an emerging AI entrepreneurial ecosystem," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(9).
    20. Carson Duan & Bernice Kotey & Kamaljeet Sandhu, 2022. "Towards an Analytical Framework of Dual Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Research Agenda for Transnational Immigrant Entrepreneurship," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 473-497, June.
    21. Tanweer, Syeda Zainab & Shah, Muhammad Saud & Nabi, Agha Ammad & Mukhi, Aftab Ali & Ahad, Muhammad, 2023. "Accelerating Growth: Unleashing the Power of Accelerator Programs as Strategic Investments for Startups in Pakistan," MPRA Paper 117474, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 28 May 2023.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carson Duan & Bernice Kotey & Kamaljeet Sandhu, 2022. "Towards an Analytical Framework of Dual Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Research Agenda for Transnational Immigrant Entrepreneurship," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 473-497, June.
    2. Brian J. Bergman & Jeffery S. McMullen, 2022. "Helping Entrepreneurs Help Themselves: A Review and Relational Research Agenda on Entrepreneurial Support Organizations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 688-728, May.
    3. Lall, Saurabh A. & Chen, Li-Wei & Roberts, Peter W., 2020. "Are we accelerating equity investment into impact-oriented ventures?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    4. Sandoz Laure & Mittmasser Christina & Riaño Yvonne & Piguet Etienne, 2022. "A Review of Transnational Migrant Entrepreneurship: Perspectives on Unequal Spatialities," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 66(3), pages 137-150, October.
    5. Jana Schmutzler & Veneta Andonova & Jonathan Perez-Lopez, 2021. "The role of diaspora in opportunity-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems: A mixed-methods study of Balkan economies," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 693-729, June.
    6. Kuebart, Andreas & Ibert, Oliver, 2019. "Beyond territorial conceptions of entrepreneurial ecosystems: The dynamic spatiality of knowledge brokering in seed accelerators," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 63(2-4), pages 118-133.
    7. Emil Lucian Crișan & Irina Iulia Salanță & Ioana Natalia Beleiu & Ovidiu Niculae Bordean & Raluca Bunduchi, 2021. "A systematic literature review on accelerators," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 62-89, February.
    8. Nerys Fuller-Love & Mofoluke Akiode, 2020. "Transnational Entrepreneurs Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Critical Review," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 6(1), pages 41-66, January.
    9. Jean-Marie Nkongolo-Bakenda & Elie V. Chrysostome, 2020. "Exploring the organizing and strategic factors of diasporic transnational entrepreneurs in Canada: An empirical study," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 336-372, September.
    10. Abd Hamid, Hamizah & Pidduck, Robert J. & Newman, Alexander & Ayob, Abu Hanifah & Sidek, Farhana, 2023. "Intercultural resource arbitrageurs: A review and extension of the literature on transnational entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    11. Rose Quan & Mingyue Fan & Michael Zhang & Huan Sun, 2019. "A dynamic dual model: The determinants of transnational migrant entrepreneurs' embeddedness in the UK," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 15(2), pages 29-56.
    12. Daniel Sunghwan Cho & Paul Ryan & Giulio Buciuni, 2022. "Evolutionary entrepreneurial ecosystems: a research pathway," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1865-1883, April.
    13. Ben Spigel & Fizza Khalid & David Wolfe, 2023. "Alacrity: a new model for venture acceleration," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 237-259, March.
    14. Bernd Wurth & Erik Stam & Ben Spigel, 2022. "Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 729-778, May.
    15. Aki Harima & Thomas Baron, 2020. "Is this Transnational Entrepreneurship? Five Cases in Which It Is Hard to Say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 6(1), pages 12-40, January.
    16. Roundy, Philip T. & Bradshaw, Mike & Brockman, Beverly K., 2018. "The emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems: A complex adaptive systems approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-10.
    17. Pustovrh, Ales & Rangus, Kaja & Drnovšek, Mateja, 2020. "The role of open innovation in developing an entrepreneurial support ecosystem," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    18. Kabbara, Diala & Zucchella, Antonella, 2023. "Transnational entrepreneurship. Insights from female entrepreneurs in the modest fashion industry," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    19. Aluko, Olu & Ott, Ursula F. & Siwale, Juliana & Odusanya, Kayode, 2022. "Overcoming the liability of outsidership: An fsQCA analysis of African transnational entrepreneurs in the UK," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 106-116.
    20. Christina Theodoraki & Alexis Catanzaro, 2022. "Widening the borders of entrepreneurial ecosystem through the international lens," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 383-406, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transnational Entrepreneurs; Public Policy; Accelerators; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Networks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:100107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.