This paper investigates how boundary organizations enable and assist collaborations between incumbent firms and start-ups. This particular type of inter-organizational collaborations is puzzling, in that on the surface they are potentially fruitful for both parties, yet difficult to build and manage, and frequently result in a fiasco. Through a field study on an open innovation programme involving a former venture accelerator, an established leader company in the fashion industry, and a group of high-tech start-ups, this paper illustrates three processes through which boundary organizations enable and assist collaborations at the boundary between incumbent firms and start-ups, across organizational as well as disciplinary boundaries: (i) cross-domain framing work, (ii) misaligned translation work, and (iii) collective orchestration work. Our analysis also delineates the implications of such processes for the collaborating firms which, in turn, facilitate the execution of experimental collaboration projects, and lead to the emergence of new business opportunities. Our findings promote a dynamic, processual view of the morphing role of boundary organizations in inter-organizational collaborations, and have implications for theory and future research on boundary organizations, collaboration processes between incumbent firms and start-ups, and the emerging role of accelerators in open innovation.

The Role of Boundary Organizations in Collaborations between Incumbent Firms and Start-ups

Bacco, Francesca
;
Comacchio, Anna
2019-01-01

Abstract

This paper investigates how boundary organizations enable and assist collaborations between incumbent firms and start-ups. This particular type of inter-organizational collaborations is puzzling, in that on the surface they are potentially fruitful for both parties, yet difficult to build and manage, and frequently result in a fiasco. Through a field study on an open innovation programme involving a former venture accelerator, an established leader company in the fashion industry, and a group of high-tech start-ups, this paper illustrates three processes through which boundary organizations enable and assist collaborations at the boundary between incumbent firms and start-ups, across organizational as well as disciplinary boundaries: (i) cross-domain framing work, (ii) misaligned translation work, and (iii) collective orchestration work. Our analysis also delineates the implications of such processes for the collaborating firms which, in turn, facilitate the execution of experimental collaboration projects, and lead to the emergence of new business opportunities. Our findings promote a dynamic, processual view of the morphing role of boundary organizations in inter-organizational collaborations, and have implications for theory and future research on boundary organizations, collaboration processes between incumbent firms and start-ups, and the emerging role of accelerators in open innovation.
2019
Proceedings of the Seventyninth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
AOM Proceedings Manuscript_20190507.pdf

non disponibili

Descrizione: Articolo breve
Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Accesso chiuso-personale
Dimensione 121.26 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
121.26 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in ARCA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3717176
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact