Firms are keen to benefit strategically from startups by applying new technologies, products, or services that increase productivity of processes and competitiveness of products. Besides tapping into entrepreneurial innovations through traditional collaboration models such as corporate venture capital or R&D alliances, firms have increasingly begun engaging with startups upon supplier relationships. These buyer–supplier relationships, which are asymmetric by nature, create opportunities for both sides to access, leverage, and combine a partner’s complementary resources as well as to apply new and valuable capabilities, which may ultimately lead to a mutual competitive advantage. However, many attributes that make startups highly attractive partners for increasing the productivity of processes or the innovativeness of products create substantial challenges for buying firms when collaborating with these young firms. Recent empirical evidence suggests that startups are increasingly considered as a new supplier type, which requires the adaptation of conventional supplier management processes and practices by buying firms to achieve desired relationship outcomes. Against this background, this chapter’s purpose is to elaborate on how firms can use ‘procurement’ processes to benefit strategically from startups and how to manage startups as suppliers. The chapter identifies specific challenges that arise from these asymmetric partnerships and provides insights from an in-depth case study of the BMW Startup Garage, offering firms guidance on how to overcome these challenges. The chapter shows how the automaker establishes buyer–supplier relationships with startups and a fast track into BMW. Finally, the chapter also provides recommendations for future research endeavors.
Flexible PCB Failures From Dynamic Activity and Their Impacts on Bioimpedance Measurements: A Wearable Case Study
