Sirius Minds “Cases and Insights”, Ausgabe Nr. 1/2023
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS:
Six different types of corporate-start-up collaboration
von Alexander Nicolai, Heike M. Hölzner und Martin Wrobel
Established organizations are increasingly cooperating with start-ups. The goal is to combine the experience and the resources of an established organization with the innovative spirit of the newcomers. The hope is to get the best of both worlds. In this paper, we argue that the success of such collaborations depends on images of start-ups underpinning them. Our thinking about organizations is driven by metaphors, both implicitly and explicitly. The type of collaboration depends on what an established organization sees in a start-up. Our research shows that a company-start-up-collaboration is often guided by one of the following images: Muse, financial investment, second foothold, development partner, organ donor, and game changer. Each image has it’s own pros and cons.