Top Highlights

• for independent accelerators – where ROI is the focus and 5- to 10-year horizons can be the norm – instead of meeting uniquely corporate goals, can be a recipe for failure.
• The first is sustaining technology, which enhances the performance of existing technologies, mostly through extended functionality or increased capacity. This is where the incumbents excel. They have built up the processes and resources to enable incremental improvements at scale, and they have the leadership style and talent needed to succeed here...
• Sixty percent of corporate accelerators fail within two years, and partnerships with the participating companies are achieved less than 1% of the time.
• Corporate accelerators are often seen as “innovation theater,” one of several cliché and ineffective innovation initiatives that do not produce results and are a last resort for companies that are falling behind the curve.
• In the modern era, the pace of innovation has dramatically increased, resulting in traditional R&D programs being augmented by more nimble internal innovation initiatives such as venture studios, corporate venture capital (CVC), accelerators, and startup partnership programs. This is a critical development, as big companies no longer have time to w...