Do start-ups benefit from coworking spaces? An empirical analysis of accelerators’ programs

Abstract

Open innovation and innovation performance have been widely studied in the literature. However, few studies have examined the impact of openness to different types of external knowledge on start-ups’ innovation performance. Moreover, previous literature could be further complemented by additional investigation into how the coworking spaces provided by accelerator programs may engender informal sources of knowledge that enhance the innovation performance of accelerated start-ups. To address this research gap, we investigate whether start-ups participating in accelerator programs can enhance their innovation performance through information transfer from informal networks provided by business accelerator programs. In order to do so, we draw two-stage data collection data from 113 start-ups accelerated by Italian accelerators from 2013 to 2016 and the response data collected in 2018. Our results reveal that coopetitors, educators, and investors are beneficial for different innovation outcomes of accelerated start-ups. These findings contribute to the innovation management literature, the small business management literature, the literature on accelerators and the coworking spaces literature.

Exploring the Potential of Open Innovation for Co-Creation in Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Cooperative endeavors facilitate the exchange of information and assets, leading to cost reduction and heightened effectiveness for all participating entities. Another benefit is the creation of networking relationships that facilitate innovation development (Sánchez-García et al 2022;Espinoza-Sánchez et al 2022;Rosenow-Gerhard 2021;Chu et al 2019) in formal and informal ways (Del Sarto et al 2022;Arndt et al 2021). Through open innovation, SMEs can also foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.…”

Industry 4.0 base technologies and business models: a bibliometric analysis

“…In this context, some scholars advocate that the development of Industry 4.0 base technologies has paved a fertile ground of opportunities for SMEs (Eggers, 2020). Industry 4.0 base technologies favour SMEs' access to skills, through better professional recruitment sites, online access to external skills, including for specific tasks, or by facilitating sharing of knowledge with other partners (Del Sarto et al ., 2022), through the knowledge partner (Moeuf et al ., 2020), especially after Covid-19 outbreaks (Clauss et al ., 2022). Another opportunity resides in SMEs' integration into markets and global value chains, through the creation of effective mechanisms to reduce the disadvantages associated with the size of companies in international trade (Crick et al ., 2023), for example by reducing the absolute costs associated with transport and customs operations (Arnold et al ., 2016; Garzella et al ., 2021).…”

Overcoming the challenges of cooperative startups businesses: insights from a bibliometric network analysis

“…Startups are business models focused on innovation (Del Sarto et al 2022a , b ). As indicated by Kaczam et al ( 2022 ), the focus on innovation in Startups is centered on creating value through business ideas, product and service development that use innovation as added value.…”

“…Cooperatives startups are a business form in which there is no vertical scale in the organization, but rather decisions are democratically taken by all its member associates (Fondahl 2019 ). This fact is directly linked to managerial decision-making and internal organization of businesses (Del Sarto et al 2022a , b ). In this respect, there are different types of cooperatives but those that are linked to technology and innovation seek to distribute the benefits among all their members and share responsibilities and activities cooperatively (Elkington and Hart 2016 ).…”