Ignite Featured in California Management Review

Led by Medhanie Gaim (Oslo Business School, Oslo Met & Umeå University), Elie Saad (Umeå University), and Sujith Nair (BI Norwegian Business School), the research was conducted in collaboration with Ignite Sweden and is based on the analysis of more than 100 startup–corporate matchmaking meetings, as well as interviews with startup founders and corporate innovation managers.

The article explores how startup–corporate partnerships form in their earliest stages and why many promising collaborations struggle to move forward, despite clear mutual benefits.

Pathways to Successful Startup-Corporate Partnerships

The study identifies two common pathways to partnership.
The first, co-creation, occurs when startups spark corporate interest through relevance or novelty, and both parties gradually shape the opportunity together.
The second, discovery, emerges when corporates bring a clearly defined problem and startups demonstrate that they already have a viable, ready-to-fit solution.

In addition, the research highlights three recurring “pathbreakers” that often disrupt partnership formation:

• Speed mismatch, when startups move faster than corporate decision-making processes
• Relational disconnect, caused by misalignment or changes in key stakeholders
• Project dormancy, where promising initiatives stall without clear next steps
  

By outlining these pathways and challenges, the article offers practical, evidence-based guidance for startups seeking to collaborate with corporates, and for established organizations looking to work more effectively with startups.

Read the full article in California Management Review here.

Watch the video summary of the article