Accelerate knowledge: How knowledge is shared with and created by new ventures in early-stage accelerator networks

Early-stage accelerators, a new investment model that blends funding with a limited-duration, cohort program in exchange for equity, have seen global expansion. Despite rapid proliferation and significant financial investments, research on accelerators has just started to emerge. Early studies look at accelerator outcomes focusing on financial milestones and survival rates, however no studies to date explore the internal knowledge sharing practices and how these relate to startup development. This study explored how knowledge is shared with and created by startup founders within accelerator networks as well as the relationship between knowledge exchange and social capital conditions within the accelerator network. The findings from this study are the result of a mixed-method design, utilizing 44 interviews and 198 observational hours. This process yielded over 1700 knowledge exchanges with startup teams within three early-stage, U.S.-based accelerators. This study identified specific conditions and practices that support startup learning and resulted in four key findings: (a) network knowledge sharing is highly customized in which network members filter out knowledge that is not immediately relevant; (b) networks that build cognitive understanding between their members accelerate startup learning; (c) startup learning is also accelerated when information is broadly shared by non-team sources and is concrete to the startup, and (d) trust in expertise and shared goals are the primary conditions that mediate knowledge exchange. The implications for practice and theory are also discussed, as well as opportunities for future research