Facing constant pressures to grow, established firms increasingly harness external innovation by collaborating with and eventually acquiring startups. To succeed in their exit through acquisition, startup firms and incumbents have to master three steps (the “3 Cs”) that enhance the co-specialization with the acquirer: establishing the Complementarity of offerings, generating Customer endorsement, and attracting an acquirer executive Champion. Drawing on a multiple-case, inductive study of seven Israeli startup acquisitions completed by two acquirers from the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, this article illustrates the different approaches pursued by the startup firms and their acquirers to succeed in managing pre- and post-acquisition processes.

面对不断增长的压力，成熟的公司越来越多地通过与初创公司合作并最终收购来利用外部创新。为了成功通过收购退出，初创公司和现有企业必须掌握三个步骤（“ 3 C”），以增强与收购方的合作专业化：建立产品的互补性，获得客户认可以及吸引收购方执行冠军。本文通过对两个以色列信息和通信技术（ICT）收购方完成的7项以色列初创公司收购进行的多案例归纳研究，说明了初创公司及其收购方为成功管理先行和后继交易而采取的不同方法。收购后流程。