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The Startup Selection Process in Accelerators: Qualitative Evidence from Turkey

  • Berna Beyhan ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Semih Akçomak ORCID logo and Dilek Cetindamar ORCID logo
Published/Copyright: October 1, 2021
Entrepreneurship Research Journal
From the journal Entrepreneurship Research Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

Abstract

Startup selection is an essential mechanism of how accelerators create value. Through in-depth case studies of 10 accelerators in Turkey, our research explores the selection process in accelerators. Our findings indicate that accelerators overcome their context’s extreme uncertainty by involving various actors in the selection process and reducing the information asymmetries for investors and startups. Accelerators tend to select effortlessly coachable startups, willing to collaborate with accelerators, mentors, or other actors, and passionate enough to overcome the pressure of creating a business at a fast pace. Our research also exhibits that the selection process serves startups by directing and training them to transmit the right signals to receivers, primarily investors. Accelerators prefer to work with entrepreneurial teams that are coachable, passionate, and collaborative to vibrate the right signals. Similarly, the accelerators’ selection process helps investors by decreasing signaling noise and mitigate information asymmetry. By doing so, accelerators contribute to a well-functioning and more effective entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Keywords: accelerators; startup selection; selection criteria; signaling; startups
Corresponding author: Berna Beyhan, Sabanci Business School, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, E-mail:

Funding source: Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TÜBİTAK)

Award Identifier / Grant number: 115K204

  1. Research funding: We would like to thank Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TÜBİTAK) for their support (grant number SOBAG 115K204), and our anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights and constructive comments to improve the paper.

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Received: 2021-03-18
Accepted: 2021-09-14
Published Online: 2021-10-01

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Competitive Research Articles
  3. Examining the Creative Self-Efficacy, Goal Interdependence, and Satisfaction of New Venture Teams in the Board Game Industry
  4. The Startup Selection Process in Accelerators: Qualitative Evidence from Turkey
  5. Social Entrepreneurship and Volunteering: Moderation Effects of Volunteer Experience Levels on Social Entrepreneurial Intent Model
  6. Reassessing Passion and Perseverance as Dimensions of Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation into Theory and Measurement
  7. Entrepreneurial Team Conflict and Cohesion: Meta-structural Equation Modeling
  8. Corporate Entrepreneurship as a Learning Process: Development of New Capabilities
  9. Constructing an Entrepreneurial Identity: How Enterprise Intentions Among Young People are Motivationally Formed
  10. Does Start-Up Founding Strategy Increase or Decrease the Effects of Strategic Capabilities on New Venture Performance?
  11. Capturing Transnational Entrepreneurial Opportunities through Dual Identification: Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Transnational Activities
  12. A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Entrepreneurial Personality
  13. The Curvilinear Relationship Between Collective Team Identification and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Uncertainty
  14. Entrepreneurial Orientation, Dynamic Capability, and Franchisee Performance: The Role of Market Responsiveness
  15. Commentary
  16. Mariusz Soltanifar, Mathew Hughes, Lutz Gocke – Digital Entrepreneurship, Impact on Business and Society (2021, Springer International Publishing)
https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2021-0122
Keywords for this article
accelerators; startup selection; selection criteria; signaling; startups

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Competitive Research Articles
  3. Examining the Creative Self-Efficacy, Goal Interdependence, and Satisfaction of New Venture Teams in the Board Game Industry
  4. The Startup Selection Process in Accelerators: Qualitative Evidence from Turkey
  5. Social Entrepreneurship and Volunteering: Moderation Effects of Volunteer Experience Levels on Social Entrepreneurial Intent Model
  6. Reassessing Passion and Perseverance as Dimensions of Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation into Theory and Measurement
  7. Entrepreneurial Team Conflict and Cohesion: Meta-structural Equation Modeling
  8. Corporate Entrepreneurship as a Learning Process: Development of New Capabilities
  9. Constructing an Entrepreneurial Identity: How Enterprise Intentions Among Young People are Motivationally Formed
  10. Does Start-Up Founding Strategy Increase or Decrease the Effects of Strategic Capabilities on New Venture Performance?
  11. Capturing Transnational Entrepreneurial Opportunities through Dual Identification: Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Transnational Activities
  12. A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Entrepreneurial Personality
  13. The Curvilinear Relationship Between Collective Team Identification and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Uncertainty
  14. Entrepreneurial Orientation, Dynamic Capability, and Franchisee Performance: The Role of Market Responsiveness
  15. Commentary
  16. Mariusz Soltanifar, Mathew Hughes, Lutz Gocke – Digital Entrepreneurship, Impact on Business and Society (2021, Springer International Publishing)
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