Cooperation Between Established Firms and Startups in Order to Address Technological Discontinuities

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Company formation, Business Plans, grade: 2,3, University of Southern Denmark (Department of Marketing & Management), course: Management of Innovation Processes, language: English, abstract: Technological discontinuities have been characterizing many markets for several years. Essential drivers for that are the Internet and startups, which make use of this technology in order to create new business models. This progress is quite often challenging established firms and call for them to leave their “comfort zone”. In contradiction to this competitive perspective, this paper aims to highlight the synergies between companies that have already been operating for many years and new market entrants. By doing so, it is examined how both may interact with the aim of commercializing products and sustaining innovation. Thereby, corporate incubators, corporate venture capitalists and non-equity relationships between established firms and startups are considered as forms of cooperation. In addition to that and by using the data of a conducted survey, insights into the experiences and expectations of incumbents and startups will be also provided. Following this, managerial implications shall serve as a base for future cooperation and the management of technological discontinuities.