This publication-based dissertation examines (corporate) venturing and business model innovation intending to derive implications for entrepreneurial management in firms. To achieve this, four self-contained research papers have been developed which are the core of this dissertation. The first section serves as a general introduction, outlines the motivation for each of the research topics, and presents a summary of the research papers and their publication status. The first research paper (Section 2) is a systematic literature review that summarizes and structures three decades of research on the field of success measurement of corporate venturing activities. It identifies three structural dimensions which allow the creation of nine meaning clusters by which the existing measurement approaches can be grouped and compared. Additionally, the review reveals the heterogeneity of these approaches and the unique measurement items which they include. The third section is an empirical study on new venture creation activities in the early stage, based on 112 interviews with novice and experienced entrepreneurs. It defines three dimensions of entrepreneurial activity, namely, Entrepreneurial Alignment, Resource Enhancement, and Value Generation, and finds 67 actions, which differ across these groups in type and sequence. Section four is a single case study in business model innovation that investigates the recent rebranding of “Facebook” to “Meta”. It finds that, despite the strong communication efforts and the resulting internal and external signaling effects, this change does not correspond to a radical business innovation pattern. The fourth research study (Section 5) is a conceptual study that develops an integrated framework for business model innovation in service industries, based on research on the tourism industry. It highlights the limitations of siloed approaches under the influence of internal and external challenges such as industry dynamics and resource constraints. Section six summarizes the dissertation, highlighting the overall contributions for research and practice, and discusses the limitations and directions for future research.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to develop an integrative framework of accelerator design to answer the question of what activities accelerators perform and how they function within a structured framework. Research on the functioning of accelerators as a mechanism for startup engagement produced multiple empirical results. However, the comparability of relevant research is strongly limited, currently hindering theoretical developments. Existing accelerator design models often differ and only partially overlap, which leaves extant literature with a fragmented and discordant conceptual understanding. Design/methodology/approach Based on a meta-synthesis method using qualitative analysis of 36 accelerator design articles, an integrative framework is developed. After identification of relevant literature, a renowned method for extracting, coding and synthesizing data on individual and cross-study level is applied to identify accelerator design constructs. Eventually, identified accelerator design constructs are integrated into a framework resting on the activity system lens of business model design. Findings The article reconciles fragmented knowledge on accelerator design and shows how accelerator design can be holistically conceptualized by 32 key activities clustered in eight design dimensions. The framework is complemented by an initial guideline for measurement. The findings further highlight formerly disregarded aspects of governance and community formation from a processual and structural perspective. Originality/value This article is the first to present a comprehensive picture of accelerator design integrating multiple empirical findings of prior research into a single coherent framework. This framework offers a shared foundation for future research exploring the delineations, functioning and impact of accelerators. From a practical perspective, the article provides managers of accelerators a guide to design, review and improve programs according to their value creation goals.

Innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is often the result of technology-driven or market-pull entrepreneurship activities. So far, although its importance in practice, as well as in academia continues to grow, extant research exhibits little theory about the process of technology-driven entrepreneurship in SMEs. The study aims to better understand how technology-driven entrepreneurship processes transform business in SMEs in the manufacturing industry. Therefore, we developed a technological entrepreneurship (TE) process framework by utilizing the flexible pattern matching approach (FPMA). We iteratively compared a priori patterns from existing theoretical knowledge to empirical findings that emerged from in-depth interviews with corporate executives in the manufacturing industry. The framework highlights the TE process in SMEs leading to four output components: (1) corporate-function-related, (2) business-model-related, (3) competitiveness-related, and (4) customer-related. This study makes a unique contribution to academia by being the first that develops a TE process framework tailored to SMEs from the manufacturing industry. We point out that sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs depends on appropriate TE process management, and we underline the strategic importance of TE-driven transformation for SME managers. Our study expands the scope of TE and SME research and provides empirically grounded insights into technology-driven innovation.

Purpose Recent years have seen a meteoric rise in the study of narcissism in entrepreneurship, although little consolidation has occurred in this area. The purpose of this paper is the development of an integrative framework to harmonise the academic discussion and serve as a structured foundation for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an artificial intelligence-aided, structured literature review focused on content analysis of concepts and contexts to map out current findings and research gaps in startup narcissism research. Findings According to the findings of this study, narcissistic tendencies have the potential to positively influence startup success early on in an entrepreneur's journey, but after a certain point in the process, the influence of narcissism on success becomes predominantly negative. Research limitations/implications The research field is currently not very harmonised regarding research measures, research subjects and key research terms. Further research must use a standardised approach to add value to the research body. Practical implications Narcissism is a two-sided sword for founders. In the early stages of a company, many of the founder’s tasks can benefit from narcissistic tendencies. In the later stages of a company, that might shift to overwhelmingly negative effects of narcissism. Originality/value Methodically, this study is the first one to establish an artificial intelligence component to add value to the results of a review paper to the best of the authors’ knowledge. The results of this study provide a clear framework of entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial performance to give researchers the opportunity of a more differentiated way of organising work.

Small, new or foreign firms inherently have a lower likelihood of surviving in the market. Frequently, this is due to the existence of resource constraints, such as the liabilities of smallness, newness or foreignness. Consequently, to survive in the market, small, new or foreign firms need to find efficient ways to use their resources. Multiple ways to alleviate these problems have been discussed in the literature, which include digitalization, internationalization, or outsourcing relationships. The usage of digital technologies, entering foreign markets or partnering with established organizations have been found to have compelling advantages and, thus, are promising practices for small, new and foreign firms in overcoming those constraints. It is, however, surprising that little is known about relevant aspects of these practices. For instance, research has just begun to investigate the influence of digital technologies on small and new firms, misses to investigate the success factors in the internationalization of small, new and foreign e-commerce firms, or has not fully investigated methods to improve performance of small firms in outsourcing relationships. Drawing on extant research on digitalization, internationalization, and outsourcing this cumulative dissertation presents four research papers. Each paper contributes to fill existing research gaps in the respective literature. All papers investigate a particular type of small firm and examine potential ways to handle scare resources. Beyond the theoretical and practical contributions of each research paper, this dissertation in its entirety presents several implications for practitioners in small, new and foreign firms that will help them to overcome resource constraints. Furthermore, the thesis discusses implications for theory, limitations, and avenues for further research.

Research shows that many firms still make business critical decisions intuitively, despite clear evidence that analytics-based decision-making is likely more effective in creating corporate and social value. With the aim of providing actionable guidance to firms on how to accomplish the shift to analytics-based decision-making, this paper sheds light on the management factors that prove critical in this context. An in-depth single-site case study was conducted with a large publicly listed German manufacturing company. Building on 22 semi-structured interviews, this empirical study identifies six factors that play a critical role in establishing analytics-based decision-making: management behaviour, top management and strategy, analytics infrastructure, organisation and governance, HR management and development, and culture. This study forms the basis for further scientific research on the role of firm management in the transitional phase. Furthermore, it provides firm leaders with a systemised and practical framework to structure firm efforts to establish data-based decision making.

A higher degree of digitalization in new ventures’ product/service offerings and their processes can lead to a faster time to market and the ability to rapidly scale. Hence, it has the possibility to significantly impact the performance. To increase the degree of digitalization in new ventures, they can implement a digital strategy. Currently there is no evidence if this measure has a strong impact on the degree of digitalization. We therefore empirically investigate the influence of a digital strategy on the degree of digitalization in new ventures’ products/services and processes. We analyzed 102 new ventures using SEM. Building on the contingency theory, we show that only having a digital strategy is insufficient to achieve a high degree of digitalization. The digitalization of products/services is partially mediated by digital IT capabilities, and the effect of digital strategy on process digitalization is partially mediated by digital IT capabilities and a digital culture.

Corporate accelerators have become integral actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems. They are heterogeneous and rapidly developing entities differing significantly in objectives and design. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive corporate accelerator taxonomy and present its evolution over time. We analyse the population of corporate accelerator programmes active in Germany in late 2019. Building on a unique dataset of 87 semi-structured interviews with managing directors of corporate accelerators, participating startups and corporate documents, we derive distinctive archetypes, differing in strategic objectives and defining characteristics. Based on this contemporary taxonomy, we discuss how corporate accelerators have evolved over recent years and delimit them to similar concepts such as incubators. Thereby, we contribute a holistic understanding of corporate accelerator commonalities and differences and provide the foundation for an evolutionary perspective to the field of corporate accelerator research. For entrepreneurial practice, we add novel insights on the experience-based learnings behind a considerable archetype evolution.

trivago is a leading travel meta-portal with EUR 754 million in revenue and a double-digit profit margin in 2016. Since its inception in 2004 and especially since 2009, the company's founders have realized impressive growth rates with revenue doubling nearly every year. As of 2016, the company had more than 1,200 employees and offered access to more than 1.3 million hotels in 190 countries. At the end of 2016, trivago carried out an IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange. For trivago's founders, the goal of not 'becoming corporate' had been a core premise for building the company. The task had been easy when trivago was still a small start-up, but its rapid growth made preserving the company's entrepreneurial capacity an increasingly challenging task: Would trivago be able to remain the entrepreneurial, driven company the founders had built and loved? The case targets MS, MA, and MBA students studying strategy, organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, and innovation management. It is also appropriate for discussions in executive-education programs (eg, lectures focused on corporate transformation and drivers of change). Read about the case: https://www.thecasecentre.org/educators/ordering/selecting/featuredcases/trivago>https://www.thecasecentre.org/educators/ordering/selecting/featuredcases/trivago