Open innovation opportunities for digital startups

: platform-based startup effect on startups

Abstract

The recent technological revolution is forcing a great change in companies. A new startup program conceptualized as platform-based startup program was created to support startups with technological resources. Since current literature in the field of corporate-startup engagement is focused on the corporate point of view, this research brought the startup perspective collecting deeper insights on the outcomes of the program and the variables which moderate these outcomes. Thus, a qualitative research was developed to gather the motives for startups to apply for the program, the impacts felt from the program and the variables which influence those impacts. Nineteen interviews were generated with the three main actors (the platform program owner, the program promotion partners and the startups), being startups the main unit of analysis. The major findings of this research were the startup perspective towards the platform-based startup programs and the role of two moderator effects, the program access and the corporate local presence. It was possible to identify the technological and financial needs as the main drivers for applying to the program and to define the impacts on startup performance (i.e. product improvement, increase in sales, savings of financial resources, and the risk of technology dependency). The research contributes to the field of corporate-startup engagement, specifically regarding the how startups can leverage external corporate technological resources.

Date of Award	15 Mar 2018
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Cláudia Isabel de Sousa Costa (Supervisor)