Start-up selection criteria for corporate venturing: what matters for incumbents

Abstract

Incumbent companies face increasing pressures to become more sustainable, and thus, to strategically renew themselves. To proactively adjust to the changing environment, incumbents can engage in collaborations with start-ups by means of corporate venturing. As one of the first steps of the venturing process, a better understanding of the selection of start-ups for corporate venturing activities is needed to further systemise and align the activities. Through a systematic literature review, this study provides an overview of existing start-up selection criteria, which are validated by means of expert interviews with incumbents. We find that for incumbents, criteria related to the team, the product and technology, the market as well as to financial and strategic characteristics are pivotal whereas criteria related to transitions seem to play a subordinated role. Our findings highlight the necessity of a coherent and aligned venturing strategy to foster the successful renewal of incumbents in eras of transition.