Abstract
To maintain a competitive advantage and adapt to the rapid changes in both the market and technology, organizations need to continuously innovate. As a result, internal corporate accelerators have been implemented as a means to internalize external innovation and promote corporate innovation. However, research on internal corporate accelerators is still limited, and there is a need for a more detailed analysis of both the positive and negative consequences of their implementation. In this paper, we employ the action research methodology to define and implement an internal corporate accelerator within a Brazilian software development company. We describe the accelerator phases, selection criteria, and provided services. We also present the advantages and challenges of implementing this accelerator. The benefits encompass the stimulation of creativity and the evolution of knowledge, while the challenges are tied to participants’ time constraints and the limitation of virtual communication.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
An, H., Chen, C.R., Wu, Q., Zhang, T.: Corporate innovation: do diverse boards help? J. Fin. Quant. Anal. 56(1), 155–182 (2021)
Barrehag, L., Fornell, A., Larsson, G., Mårdström, V., Westergård, V., Wrackefeldt, S.: Accelerating success: a study of seed accelerators and their defining characteristics. Bachelor thesis TEKX04-12-10 Chalmers University, Sweden (2012)
Crișan, E.L., Salanță, I.I., Beleiu, I.N., Bordean, O.N., Bunduchi, R.: A systematic literature review on accelerators. J. Technol. Transfer 46(1), 62–89 (2021)
Charmaz, K.: Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Sage, New York (2006)
Edison, H.: A conceptual framework of lean startup enabled internal corporate venture. In: Abrahamsson, P., Corral, L., Oivo, M., Russo, B. (eds.) PROFES 2015. LNCS, vol. 9459, pp. 607–613. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26844-6_46
Leppänen, M., Hokkanen, L.: Four patterns for internal startups. In: Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs, July 2015
Dybå, T., Prikladnicki, R., Rönkkö, K., Seaman, C., Sillito, J.: Qualitative research in software engineering. Empirical Soft. Eng. 16, 425–429 (2011)
Ghorashi, H., Asghari, R.: Minimum viable accelerator: planning, starting and improving startup accelerator programs under a lean approach. Am. J. Manag. 19(2), 10–25 (2019)
Kemell, K.K., Risku, J., Strandjord, K.E., Nguyen-Duc, A., Wang, X., Abrahamsson, P.: Internal software startups–a multiple case study on practices, methods, and success factors. In: 46th Euromicro Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications (SEAA), pp. 326–333, August 2020
Kohler, T.: Corporate accelerators: building bridges between corporations and startups. Bus. Horiz. 59(3), 347–357 (2016)
Kraut, R., Egido, C., Galegher, J.: Patterns of contact and communication in scientific research collaboration. In: Proceedings of the 1988 ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, pp. 1–12. ACM, New York, NY, USA (1988)
Kuratko, D.F., Hornsby, J.S., Covin, J.G.: Diagnosing a firm’s internal environment for corporate entrepreneurship. Bus. Horiz. 57(1), 37–47 (2014)
Mohammadi, N., Sakhteh, S.: Start-up accelerator value chain: a systematic literature review. Manag. Rev. Q. 73, 661–694 (2022)
Peralta, C.B.D.L., Echeveste, M.E., Lermen, F.H., Marcon, A., Tortorella, G.: A framework proposition to identify customer value through lean practices. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag. 31(4), 725–747 (2020)
Pe-Than, E.P.P., Nolte, A., Filippova, A., Bird, C., Scallen, S., Herbsleb, J.: Corporate hackathons, how and why? A multiple case study of motivation, projects proposal and selection, goal setting, coordination, and outcomes. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 37(4), 281–313 (2022)
Porras, J., et al.: Hackathons in software engineering education: lessons learned from a decade of events. In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Software Engineering Education for Millennials, pp. 40–47, June 2018
Prexl, K.M., Hubert, M., Beck, S., Heiden, C., Prügl, R.: Identifying and analysing the drivers of heterogeneity among ecosystem builder accelerators. R&D Manage. 49(4), 624–638 (2019)
Ries, E.: The Lean Startup, p. 27. Crown Business, New York (2012)
Molléri, J.S., Petersen, K., Mendes, E.: Survey guidelines in software engineering: an annotated review. In: Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (2016)
Selig, C.J., Heinzelmann, N., Kohlhase, S., Baltes, G.H.: Fostering Intrapreneurship through the Implementation of Internal Corporate Accelerators. HTWG Konstanz (2018a)
Selig, C.J., Gasser, T., Baltes, G.H.: How corporate accelerators foster organizational transformation: an internal perspective. In: 2018 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation, pp. 1–9. IEEE, June 2018b
Staron, M.: Action research as research methodology in software engineering. In: Action Research in Software Engineering. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32610-4_2
Susman, G.I., Evered, R.D.: An assessment of the scientific merits of action research. Adm. Sci. Q. 23(4), 582–603 (1978)
Tkalich, A., Moe, N.B., Sporsem, T.: Employee-driven innovation to fuel internal software startups: preliminary findings. In: Gregory, P., Kruchten, P. (eds.) XP 2021. LNBIP, vol. 426, pp. 145–154. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88583-0_14
Valença, G., Lacerda, N., de Souza, C.R.B., Gama, K.: A systematic mapping study on the organization of corporate hackathons. In: Euromicro Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications, pp. 421–428. IEEE (2020)
Yin, B., Luo, J.: How do accelerators select startups? Shifting decision criteria across stages. IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage. 65(4), 574–589 (2018)
Yusubova, A., Andries, P., Clarysse, B.: Entrepreneurial team formation and evolution in technology ventures: looking beyond the top management team. J. Small Bus. Manage. 58(5), 893–922 (2020)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Abreu, V., Costa, A., Pinheiro, A., de Souza, C.R.B. (2024). Benefits and Challenges of an Internal Corporate Accelerator in a Software Company: An Action-Research Study. In: Kadgien, R., Jedlitschka, A., Janes, A., Lenarduzzi, V., Li, X. (eds) Product-Focused Software Process Improvement. PROFES 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14483. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49266-2_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49266-2_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49265-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49266-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)