Open AccessChoreographies of entrepreneurship. How different formats of co-presence are combined to facilitate knowledge creation in seed accelerator programs
Author(s) -
Andreas Kuebart,
Oliver Ibert
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
raumforschung und raumordnung
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1869-4179
pISSN - 0034-0111
DOI - 10.2478/rara-2019-0047
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , process (computing) , perspective (graphical) , bridge (graph theory) , entrepreneurship , value (mathematics) , computer science , knowledge management , sociology , business , artificial intelligence , biology , paleontology , finance , anatomy , machine learning , operating system
This paper explores different functions of co-presence for collaborative knowledge creation in the context of seed accelerator programs. Seed accelerators offer programs of three to six months to enhance the growth of early-stage start-ups through various means of training and organizational development. In this paper, seed accelerator programs are analysed as orchestrated sequences of different types of physical co-presence. By drawing on qualitative case study data, the paper identifies eight different ways in which physical co-presence is used during seed accelerator programs. Through these eight types of co-presence, the analysis reveals that physical co-presence unfolds unique social dynamics that are utilized in a carefully designed combination of presence and absence. It is shown that physical co-presence is a means to enact relational distance and to bridge this distance for the benefit of the entrepreneurial process. Therefore, this paper adds a new perspective on how co-presence is used to facilitate the generation of value through collaborative knowledge creation.