Acceleration as an ecosystem's unique mechanism: a systematic literature review and ecosystem acceleration model

Accelerators can go beyond the direct impact on the startups' performance. They constitute a recent field of research that grew significantly in 2016. We conducted a systematic literature review with bibliometric and content analysis to understand how it developed. We propose some questions: Does an ecosystem need an accelerator, and if so, need a specific kind of accelerator? We also explore the prospects and opportunities for research related to ecosystems and acceleration. We identified that ecosystems need acceleration programs aligned with the actors involved and propose some paths to avoid pitfalls. We present six research streams to explore in this field: more variety of methods; comparison between models and practices; evaluation of different programs and impact on ecosystems; more diversity of contexts; focus on specific sectors; and the role of innovation intermediaries in ecosystems. Finally, we added the networking component to the acceleration definition.