Start-ups' perception of collective learning in accelerators
(2018) ENTN19 20181Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Problem - Although experiential and social learning theory have contributed to our understanding of the entrepreneurial learning process, a major limitation is the focus on learning of the individual entrepreneur. As most start-ups work in teams, understanding the organizational learning process is important.
Aim - The purpose of this study is to discover how start-ups learn by participating in an accelerator. As both teams and the accelerator environment is considered as social, the study applies collective learning theory to understand the organizational learning in accelerators. In particular, the research focuses on the three elements coaching, mentoring and Demo Day and aims to unravel what leads to a perception of collective... (More) - Problem - Although experiential and social learning theory have contributed to our understanding of the entrepreneurial learning process, a major limitation is the focus on learning of the individual entrepreneur. As most start-ups work in teams, understanding the organizational learning process is important.
Aim - The purpose of this study is to discover how start-ups learn by participating in an accelerator. As both teams and the accelerator environment is considered as social, the study applies collective learning theory to understand the organizational learning in accelerators. In particular, the research focuses on the three elements coaching, mentoring and Demo Day and aims to unravel what leads to a perception of collective learning
Methods – To answer the research question, qualitative data based on five case studies of European accelerators were collected. The case studies build on five interviews with accelerator directors and nine start-up alumni that participated in the accelerator.
Results – A set of eight variables was identified during the data analysis and categorized based on the three elements (coaching, mentoring, Demo Day). The findings show that all three elements are important for a perception of collective learning. The mentoring was the most important element, as the match-making and interactions uncovered for start-ups what to learn and how to learn it. Other important elements comprised social (“peer”) learning and tailoring in coaching, the investor match-making and the importance of the Demo Day.
Implications - This is the first study to introduce collective learning as theoretical lens for start-ups by using a new form of early-support accelerators. Due to the novelty of the findings and the limited generalizability, future research should develop quantitative measures of collective learning. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8951166
- author
- Kaysers, Felix LU and Eul, Eike LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ENTN19 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- collective learning, accelerators, mentor, entrepreneurial learning, coaching
- language
- English
- id
- 8951166
- date added to LUP
- 2018-06-29 09:41:52
- date last changed
- 2018-06-29 09:41:52
@misc{8951166,
abstract = {{Problem - Although experiential and social learning theory have contributed to our understanding of the entrepreneurial learning process, a major limitation is the focus on learning of the individual entrepreneur. As most start-ups work in teams, understanding the organizational learning process is important.
Aim - The purpose of this study is to discover how start-ups learn by participating in an accelerator. As both teams and the accelerator environment is considered as social, the study applies collective learning theory to understand the organizational learning in accelerators. In particular, the research focuses on the three elements coaching, mentoring and Demo Day and aims to unravel what leads to a perception of collective learning
Methods – To answer the research question, qualitative data based on five case studies of European accelerators were collected. The case studies build on five interviews with accelerator directors and nine start-up alumni that participated in the accelerator.
Results – A set of eight variables was identified during the data analysis and categorized based on the three elements (coaching, mentoring, Demo Day). The findings show that all three elements are important for a perception of collective learning. The mentoring was the most important element, as the match-making and interactions uncovered for start-ups what to learn and how to learn it. Other important elements comprised social (“peer”) learning and tailoring in coaching, the investor match-making and the importance of the Demo Day.
Implications - This is the first study to introduce collective learning as theoretical lens for start-ups by using a new form of early-support accelerators. Due to the novelty of the findings and the limited generalizability, future research should develop quantitative measures of collective learning.}},
author = {{Kaysers, Felix and Eul, Eike}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Start-ups' perception of collective learning in accelerators}},
year = {{2018}},
}