This master thesis qualitatively and quantitatively investigates the customer centricity of startups within their process from the idea to the foundation until the scaling of their business, which is called the venture creation process. In order to make customer centricity tangible, it is analyzed weather the new ideation and development methods Lean Startup and Design Thinking are used from startups and whether and how they help to improve their customer centricity. For the startups, the focus lies on the ones that received professional support for their founding process through a support program. Therefore, the theoretical part of the thesis analyzes the venture creation process, explains the basic theory models of Design Thinking and Lean Startup and delineates the startup support programs of incubator, accelerator and company builder. The empirical part of this thesis is based on a multiple case study, which qualitatively analyses the founding process of six startup support programs and quantitative explores 25 startups in their utilization of Design Thinking and Lean Startup. With this approach, a generic venture creation process is defined comprising a macro level of seven process steps and a micro level described by input, tasks and output. With the help of the findings from the startup analysis, this process is also extended to an own developed holistic framework for a customer-centered venture creation process. Therefore, it is analyzed that the utilization of Design Thinking and Lean Startup for a customer-centered approach in practice is given, albeit with two application mistakes: first customer orientation is defined one-dimensionally with a strong focus on competitors rather than customers themselves; and second, the methods are not used consistently and in a process-compliant manner. This thesis also offers directions for further research on customer centricity in the startup scene.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Problem statement and scope
1.2. Objective and structure
2. Theoretical background
2.1. The venture creation process
2.2. Lean Startup and Design Thinking
2.2.1. Background and theory
2.2.2. Lean Startup
2.2.3. Design Thinking
2.2.4. Customer centricity
2.2.5. Differences between LS and DT
2.3. Definitional delimitations of SSP
2.3.1. Incubator
2.3.2. Accelerator
2.3.3. Company builder
2.3.4. Summary demarcation
3. Methodology
3.1. Research questions and research framework
3.2. Research procedure
3.3. Research methodology
3.3.1. Guide-based expert interview
3.3.2. Online survey
4. Results
4.1. Results from the expert interviews
4.1.1. Etventure
4.1.2. Siemens AG next47
4.1.3. BMW Accelerator Next (ACC Next)
4.1.4. Allianz X
4.1.5. TechFounders
4.1.6. Rocket Internet
4.2. Results from the online survey
4.2.1. Analysis of the general questions
4.2.2. Analysis of the customer orientation questions
4.2.3. Analysis of the feedback on new methods and tools
4.3. Cross-case analysis
4.3.1. The customer-centric founding process
4.3.2. Customer centricity of startups
5. Discussion and critical reflection
6. Conclusion and outlook
7. Literature
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This thesis investigates how startup support programs (SSPs) implement customer-centricity in the venture creation process and evaluates to what extent methodologies like Lean Startup and Design Thinking are utilized by startups within these programs to foster a customer-oriented business approach.
- Analysis of the customer-centric venture creation process.
- Evaluation of Lean Startup and Design Thinking methodologies.
- Comparison of different startup support program (SSP) archetypes (incubators, accelerators, company builders).
- Empirical study based on expert interviews and a quantitative online survey of startups.
- Development of a holistic framework for a customer-centered venture creation process.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1. The venture creation process
In the following, the venture creation process is described from a scientific and popular scientific perspective. This is crucial for the empirical analysis in chapter five, as the popular science concepts and processes have a strong impact in practice (Blank, 2013). Already in 1983, Churchill and Lewis described five evolutionary steps of young companies (Churchill & Lewis, 1983). Nevertheless, the exact process from a business idea to a successful startup and later scaling company is still controversial discussed in the entrepreneurship research. By contrast, the innovation management and product development literature describes the development of new products with a combination of idea generation and stage gate processes in detail until the market launch (Cooper, Crawford, & Hustad, 1986).
"Much of what is known about the internal organization of firms is based on the study of large established organizations. Comparatively little research effort has been devoted to understanding the internal organization of entrepreneurial ventures and only a handful of studies have gone to the core of the constitutive elements of the internal organization in firms" (Strategic Management Society, 2016).
Several scientists have identified typologies, process descriptions and frameworks for the venture creation process (cf. Bhave, 1994; Singh, 2000; Chandler et al., 2002; Shane, 2003; Lumpkin et al., 2004, McMullen & Shepherd 2006; Davidsson, 2012). Nevertheless, individual research on entrepreneurs and opportunities are still the core construct in the entrepreneurship research. Despite recent advances suggesting the division of ideas from opportunities, the entrepreneurship field still suffers from conceptual deficiencies. Vogel builds on this distinction and leverages insights from innovation and product development management literature. He developed a framework that allows tracing the evolution of a venture from first insight to exploitation (Vogel, 2016). Vogel's venture creation process illustrates the early phases of the entrepreneurial process from the business intention to the real business opportunity, which can be exploited in the further course of business (see figure 1).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the challenges of startup failure due to lack of market need and sets the research focus on how startup support programs utilize ideation methods to reduce risks.
2. Theoretical background: Provides a scientific overview of venture creation processes, defines core methodologies like Lean Startup and Design Thinking, and delineates various startup support program forms.
3. Methodology: Details the research framework, justifying the use of a multiple case study approach combined with qualitative expert interviews and a quantitative online survey.
4. Results: Presents findings from expert interviews with six organizations and analysis of the online survey, culminating in a cross-case analysis of customer-centric practices.
5. Discussion and critical reflection: Synthesizes the empirical results with prevailing scientific literature and reflects on the practical implications for startups and support programs.
6. Conclusion and outlook: Summarizes the thesis findings and proposes future research directions for customer-centric startup processes.
7. Literature: Lists all referenced academic and gray literature sources used in the research.
Key Words
Startup, Venture Creation, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, Customer Centricity, Startup Support Program, Incubator, Accelerator, Company Builder, Entrepreneurship, Market Need, Innovation Management, Business Model, Prototyping, Empirical Analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work investigates how customer-centricity is achieved within the venture creation process of startup support programs.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The thesis covers the venture creation process, the application of Lean Startup and Design Thinking methodologies, and the organizational structures of incubators, accelerators, and company builders.
What is the primary research question?
The central question is: "How can customer centricity be achieved in the venture creation process of SSP?"
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The thesis employs a multiple case study approach, utilizing qualitative guide-based expert interviews and a quantitative online survey to collect empirical data.
What does the main part of the document address?
The main part includes a theoretical foundation, an empirical analysis of specific support programs, and the derivation of a holistic framework for customer-centric venture creation.
Which key terms characterize this work?
Important keywords include Lean Startup, Design Thinking, Customer Centricity, Venture Creation, and Startup Support Programs.
How do incubators, accelerators, and company builders differ?
The thesis distinguishes them based on four dimensions: ownership structure, adaptation mechanism, incentive regime, and time horizon.
What is the primary finding regarding customer-centricity in startups?
The research concludes that while startups are aware of the importance of customer-centricity, their actual implementation of methods like DT and LS is often inconsistent and overly focused on competitors rather than the customer.
- Quote paper
- Kristal Robles (Author), 2018, How customer-centric is the venture creation process of startups?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/453910
