Navigating innovation partnerships: challenges and opportunities in startup-corporate collaborations

Corporations actively pursue startups for rapid innovation, while startups seek to enhance their business models with larger companies’ support, creating an ideal partnership. However, the initiation of such relationships poses challenges for both parties. The study clarifies interaction pathways among entities and how partnerships create new technology evaluation models. The research used a qualitative methodology with content analysis techniques involving 18 interviews conducted with founders of Brazilian startups. By elucidating the real impact of such collaborations, the study offers valuable insights for practitioners and researchers seeking to understand and leverage the dynamics of startup-corporation relationships for mutual benefit and innovation.