STARTUP ACCELERATION: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS IN JAPAN

Abstract

　This essay is a summary of the article entitled “Startup Acceleration: An Empirical Analysis of Accelerator Programs in Japan” published in the Journal of Business Management. The article investigates how accelerators aid the growth of startups and how they influence startup performance by focusing on the role of accelerator experience. Specifically, through an empirical analysis using data from 38 accelerators in Japan, we hypothesized and found that the effect of accelerator experience on the amount of funding raised by startups participating in the accelerator program in the year after the end of the demo day is positive only for early-stage startups that had not yet raised sufficient funds before participating in the program. This result implies that accelerator programs are not necessarily effective across all stages of startups because the programs may be specialized for specific stages. To the best of our knowledge, this article is the first study that systematically analyzes accelerator programs in Japan; it contributes to the literature by clarifying the role of accelerator experience in the development of startups.