Abstract
The benefits of the open innovation approach, and more specifically – the partnership between corporates and startups, are well covered in the literature by different scholars. Although the establishment of corporate accelerators as one of several solutions to foster such partnerships, has been discussed by several authors, there is still a lack of empirical studies regarding more specific topics in this field along with practical implications. This thesis aims, through conducting an embedded multi-case study, to understand how companies can utilize corporate accelerators to strengthen their strategic market advantage. We started the research with a literature review, covering the open innovation theory, corporate accelerators as an entrepreneurial ecosystem, the existing models of this business unit, and perceived benefits from the incumbent’s perspective. As a result, we identified the main areas in which an accelerator can enhance the company’s strategic advantage: Market monitoring, fostering innovation, ecosystem building, branding and marketing, and talent acquisition. Through primary data analysis, we found similarities between the literature and interview insights. Moreover, we also discovered the underlying influence of 3rd parties – open innovation intermediaries, on the research subject. This discovery resulted in the development of a framework of three parties based on the Bauer (2016) model. The results of this study show that corporate accelerators can bring benefits in all five areas, however, the success of outcome depends on the organization of the business unit, correctly identified strategic objectives, and, in some cases, the influence of open innovation intermediaries.