When uncertainty is mitigated by accelerators: configurations of effectuation, causation and accelerators' design choices in the path to startup success

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440261473519

Accelerators are increasingly effective at supporting new ventures. However, our understanding of how they achieve success in the new ventures is limited. To expand our knowledge, the fit between accelerator design choices and the selected startup teams’ cognitive characteristics and perceptions of uncertainty needs to be investigated. In this research, we aim to explore how startup teams’ causation, effectuation, and entrepreneurial experience contribute to success in different types of accelerators. For this purpose, we employ fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The data used in this study were collected through a questionnaire survey from 52 startups that graduated from nine accelerator programs in Turkey’s two largest cities. Our findings suggest that accelerator design choices, utilization of provided services, and entrepreneurial experience are critical for reducing uncertainty. Hence, combinations of these factors work different with effectuation and/or causation in leading startups to superior performance.