How Does Participation in a Business Acceleration Program Affect Stakeholders’ Perception of a Start-Up’s Legitimacy in Denmark?

Abstract

This research investigates how participation in business accelerator programs influences stakeholders’ perception of a start-up’s legitimacy in Denmark. The study responds to the increasing representation of business accelerator programs as a tool for entrepreneurial support mechanisms, challenging assumptions that such programs inherently enhance start-up legitimacy and success. The study adopts an interpretivist, qualitative approach and is based on semi-structured interviews with eight stakeholders. These interviews explored each individual's perception of legitimacy and the role accelerators play in influencing it from their perspectives. Across stakeholder groups, accelerator participation was seen to offer symbolic legitimacy, particularly in the early stages of the start-up journey, but was not perceived as a standalone marker of credibility or future success. Instead, the quality of mentorship, the relevance of support, and team composition were seen as stronger signals of a start-up’s ability to legitimize itself in the eyes of stakeholders. External stakeholders, especially investors, emphasized skepticism toward mere program affiliation and instead prioritized strong founding teams and strategic clarity as a marker of legitimacy and success potential. The study bridges institutional theory, stakeholder theory and signaling theory to conceptualize legitimacy as a dynamic and complex perception-driven construct. It conceptualizes legitimacy not as a binary or fixed attribute but advances the understanding of “soft legitimacy” by showing that perceived value shaped by contextual and relational factors often outweigh formal affiliation with accelerator programs. The integration of these three theoretical lenses enables a more comprehensive view of how start-ups single value, how different stakeholders interpret these signals and how institutional norms as well as expectations influence those interpretations. This research encourages founders to prioritize alignment with program content, mentorship quality and strategic fit rather than solely relying on accelerator brand prestige alone. Additionally, valuable insights are provided to Danish investors in the start-up ecosystem as it highlights whether increased visibility, credibility and capabilities are believed to be gained through these programs, providing a lens through which investors can better identify high-potential ventures. For accelerator program managers, the findings offer guidance on how to structure programs to deliver more than symbolic value, by tailoring support to start-ups needs and empathizing relational capital over performative metrics. Finally, for policymakers, the research delivers a grounded evaluation of accelerator effectiveness, urging a reconsideration of accelerator program design and funding to ensure that these programs offer meaningful long-term benefits, not just initial symbolic value.