IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v15y2025i7p258-d1694708.html

KPIs for Digital Accelerators: A Critical Review

Author

Listed:
  • Nuno J. P. Rodrigues

    (REMIT—Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies, Portucalense University, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    ISLA—Polytechnic Institute of Management and Technology, School of Management, 4400-107 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal)

Abstract

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for studying the KPIs of digital accelerators. Therefore, a critical review was developed and we derived clear recommendations in terms of KPIs that researchers must consider when evaluating digital accelerators applicable to startups. Digital startup businesses must focus on product, external factors, process, capability, organizational factors, and market to achieve sustainability. The proposed framework asserts that profitability, growth, productivity, and size are key categories that should be taken into consideration while grouping KPIs. These categories should be grouped into three different dimensions, economic, technological, and organization/client. The proposed KPIs can help the accelerator program evaluate its own performance and make the necessary adjustments to improve the program and eventually measure the startup’s success.

Suggested Citation

  • Nuno J. P. Rodrigues, 2025. "KPIs for Digital Accelerators: A Critical Review," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:7:p:258-:d:1694708
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/7/258/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/7/258/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. José Ramón Saura & Pedro Palos-Sánchez & Luis Manuel Cerdá Suárez, 2017. "Understanding the Digital Marketing Environment with KPIs and Web Analytics," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2016. "Innovation and firm growth: Does firm age play a role?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 387-400.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shojaei, Davood & Ye, Yongxin & Zhang, Zezheng & Rajabifard, Abbas & Abedi, Fahimeh, 2025. "Updating cadastral base maps: An innovative approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Faizan, M. & Afgan, I., 2026. "Life cycle assessment of wind turbine systems: A statistical synthesis approach to address greenhouse gas emissions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PD).
    3. Massi, Marta & Vocino, Andrea & Piancatelli, Chiara & Cillo, Paola & Pellicelli, Anna Claudia, 2026. "Revolutionizing consumption: Unveiling the Allure of NFTs and digital twins for sustainable luxury fashion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    4. Deborah Andrews & Kristina Kerwin, 2026. "Design for circularity - a data centre equipment case study," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 39(1), pages 53-70, March.
    5. Trevor Incerti & Raphaëlle Soffe, 2026. "Anticipatory effects of corporate tax shaming: evidence from the European Union," IFS Working Papers W26/19, Institute for Fiscal Studies.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías & David Rodeiro-Pazos & Sara Fernández-López & Manuel Ángel Nogueira-Moreiras, 2021. "The effect of regional resources on innovation: a firm-centered approach," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 760-791, June.
    2. Khanh Hoang, 2022. "How does corporate R&D investment respond to climate policy uncertainty? Evidence from heavy emitter firms in the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 936-949, July.
    3. Bongsuk Sung & Myoung Shik Choi & Woo-Yong Song, 2019. "Exploring the Effects of Government Policies on Economic Performance: Evidence Using Panel Data for Korean Renewable Energy Technology Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Krzysztof BORODAKO & Jadwiga BERBEKA & Michał RUDNICKI & Mariusz ŠAPCZYŃSKI, 2021. "Online Visibility and Knowledge-Intensive Business Services Performance: The Scope of Interrelatedness," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 157-173, August.
    5. Alex Coad & Agustí Segarra-Blasco & Mercedes Teruel, 2021. "A bit of basic, a bit of applied? R&D strategies and firm performance," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 1758-1783, December.
    6. Ponzoa, José M. & Gómez, Andrés & Mas, José M., 2023. "EU27 and USA institutions in the digital ecosystem: Proposal for a digital presence measurement index," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Tim Heubeck & Annina Ahrens, 2025. "Governing the Responsible Investment of Slack Resources in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance: How Beneficial are CSR Committees?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(2), pages 365-385, May.
    8. Bernard Kwamena Cobbina Essel & Faizal Adams & Kwadwo Amankwah, 2019. "Effect of entrepreneur, firm, and institutional characteristics on small-scale firm performance in Ghana," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Galina Besstremyannaya & Richard Dasher & Sergei Golovan, 2022. "Quantifying heterogeneity in the relationship between R&D intensity and growth at innovative Japanese firms: A quantile regression approach," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 67, pages 27-45.
    10. Başak Dalgıç & Burcu Fazlıoğlu, 2021. "Innovation and firm growth: Turkish manufacturing and services SMEs," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 395-419, September.
    11. Delera, Michele & Pietrobelli, Carlo & Calza, Elisa & Lavopa, Alejandro, 2022. "Does value chain participation facilitate the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in developing countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    12. Manuel Guisado-González & Jennifer González-Blanco & José Luis Coca-Pérez, 2019. "Exploration, exploitation, and firm age in alliance portfolios," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(4), pages 387-406, December.
    13. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Liu, Fengyun, 2024. "Does green credit promote the performance of new energy companies and how? The role of R&D investment and financial development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    14. Carles Méndez-Ortega & Mercedes Teruel, 2020. "To acquire or not to acquire: the effects of acquisitions in the software industry," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 793-814, July.
    15. Upadhayay, Neha B. & Rocchetta, Silvia & Gupta, Shivam & Kamble, Sachin & Stekelorum, Rebecca, 2024. "Blazing the trail: The role of digital and green servitization on technological innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    16. Tran, Hien Thu, 2019. "Institutional quality and market selection in the transition to market economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1-1.
    17. Dost Mir & Arshad Muhammad & Afsar Bilal, 2018. "The Influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Types of Process Innovation Capabilities and Moderating Role of Social Capital," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 8(4), pages 1-15, October.
    18. Alvedalen, Janna & Carlsson, Bo, 2021. "Scaling up in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A comparative study of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Life Science," Papers in Innovation Studies 2021/9, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    19. Xu, Kunliang & Shao, Yanmin & Hu, Yiwen, 2025. "Responding to perceived environmental policy uncertainty with green technological innovation engagement: Evidence from a text-based measure," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    20. Despina S. Giakomidou & Athanasios Kriemadis & Dimitrios K. Nasiopoulos & Dimitrios Mastrakoulis, 2022. "Re-Engineering of Marketing for SMEs in Energy Market through Modeling Customers’ Strategic Behavior," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-20, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:7:p:258-:d:1694708. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.