Aceleração corporativa: uma análise de sua dinâmica e implicações, com base em cinco iniciativas brasileiras

Abstract

As established organizations face a great challenge to incorporate external technologies and innovative practices, in part due to their organizational inertia and internal pressures for operational excellence. Recent literature proposes that establishing relationship with startups is a promising way for companies to learn and leverage competitiveness, since startups act as a source of new ideas and business opportunities. On the other hand, startups can also benefit from the direct interaction with companies, since they can use the knowledge of the company's employees and its network to catalyze the growth of the nascent business. In this context, a Corporate Acceleration Program is a formal private corporate organizational initiative to invest in and support a number of startups leading to a fast growth of ventures. This study aims to investigate corporate acceleration, emphasizing the characteristics and criteria for the identification of a corporate acceleration model, the benefits related to the program and the organizational adaptations necessary for the implementation of a corporate acceleration program. The methodology used in the dissertation is to study multi cases. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the managers and participants of corporate acceleration initiatives in Brazil (n = 5). The choice of companies was based on the following criteria: companies that operate with corporate acceleration, which already have some program performed and with initial results verified, that have a reliable database and whose operational managers are responsible for the information. The following indicators were analyzed: program structure, investment, personnel involved, forms of integration, program time and program objectives / focus. Among the results, we found a clear similarity between the traditional acceleration and the corporate acceleration, regarding the structure and processes. Despite such similarity, the main distinctions of this new approach lay on aspects related to company-startup integration, which catalyzes changes in the innovation mindset of large corporations as well as in their organizational structures, and offer more scalability for startups, since they use the company structure to make it more flexible costs and have access to the market and suppliers. Based on the five case studies presented, it was possible to identify the types of corporate acceleration programs in Brazil.. In essence, the programs have the same processes, differing in ownership of the accelerator with internal or external management and in the forms of integration of the sponsoring company with the startups. This masters dissertation contributes to broaden the discussion about the topic of corporate acceleration and the models applied to its execution.