Accelerating entrepreneurship via intensive learning programs

In the last decade a new instrument aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship has emerged: the accelerator program. It addresses the need to “accelerate” entrepreneurship by conducting a very intensive program, starting with the selection of particularly promising ideas and aimed at defining business projects attractive to investors. A very interesting, yet barely explored aspect, concerns the learning mechanisms within these programs. On the basis of the literature on entrepreneurial learning, and knowledge management, this paper aims at identifying the learning mechanisms and the knowledge roles within them. A longitudinal case study concerning an accelerator program operating in Italy since 2012 is conducted. The empirical analysis reveals a stratification of the mechanisms of learning, supported by different knowledge roles throughout the program. Although the limitations of the study, the results may provide a basis for future research.