ENGAGING WITH STARTUPS: MNC PERSPECTIVES

We shed light on the perspective of multinational companies (MNCs) in relation to partnering with startups. In so doing we build on a previous round table that had taken the perspective of startups and highlighted the importance of proactiveness in forming, consolidating and extending relationships with large MNCs. In recent years there has been a perceptible rise in systematic initiatives from corporations to partner with startups. In structuring this article, we consider three aspects: (1) the why, (2) the how, and (3) the where of corporation-startup partnering. This approach echoes the three dimensions of Buckley and Prashantham’s (2016) notion of the “division of entrepreneurial labour” between multinationals and entrepreneurial smaller firms. First, the capability dimension suggests that there is potential for value creation in interfirm networks resulting from differentiation between startups and multinationals primarily in terms of exploration and exploitation capabilities, respectively. Second, the connectivity dimension is concerned with how this potential is realised, through network orchestration and dialogue. Third, the contextuality dimension highlights spatial differences, noting in particular that in emerging markets MNCs often need to address institutional deficits. Panellists from 100 Startups, Bosch, Intel and Swiss Re provide examples of partnering initiatives that were introduced in the Indian – and specifically Bangalore – ecosystem. The drivers and adopted approaches in the programmatic initiatives of the MNCs featured in the round table varied considerably. Intel’s initiative was aligned with its core competence of hardware design, Bosch’s initiative was aimed at solving specific problem statements, while Swiss Re had a more open and exploratory approach broadly within the fintech and insurance space. 100 Startups represents ecosystem intermediaries that help connect corporations and startups. Our primary contribution through this round table has been to shed light on contemporary partnering practices that MNCs have put in place to facilitate their ability to partner with innovative startups.