IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v21y2025i1d10.1007_s11365-025-01081-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What helps age-tech startups scale-up? Some insights

Author

Listed:
  • Imon Chakraborty

    (Indian Institute of Technology Madras)

  • P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan

    (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi)

  • Sisira Edirippulige

    (The University of Queensland)

Abstract

The mortality rate of health-tech startups is high despite their potential to fill the accessibility and affordability gaps in healthcare service delivery. Extant research on what helps health-tech startups to grow, especially age-tech startups, is inadequate. It discusses various aspects of scale-up, but an understanding of what precedes the same remains scant. The paper attempts to fill this gap using a scoping review of the literature followed by case studies. Four databases, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore (IEEE Xplore), were screened for the period January 2017 and May 2024. The findings were validated in the light of case studies where critical incident technique was used to analyze the data. The study identifies seven antecedents for the age-tech startups’ scale-up: customer-oriented approach, workforce productiveness, value effectiveness, innovativeness, strategic partnerships, funding strategy, and regulatory compliance. It offers a theoretical understanding of the factors that drive the scale-up of age-tech startups and proposes a framework for further theoretical development and empirical validation. The findings will assist various stakeholders in enabling the success and sustainability of health-tech ventures. The paper also presents practical implications and directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Imon Chakraborty & P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan & Sisira Edirippulige, 2025. "What helps age-tech startups scale-up? Some insights," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-32, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-025-01081-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-025-01081-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-025-01081-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-025-01081-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. O'Connor, Genevieve E. & Myrden, Susan & Alkire (née Nasr), Linda & Lee, Kyungwon & Köcher, Sören & Kandampully, Jay & Williams, Jerome D., 2021. "Digital Health Experience: A Regulatory Focus Perspective," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 121-136.
    2. Yan Zhou & Liguo Lou & Justin Z. Zhang & Jeffrey Gauthier & Brij B. Gupta, 2024. "Exploring reputation factors for startups’ survival in sharing economy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2591-2609, December.
    3. Scott N. Taylor & Andrew Corbett & Danna Greenberg & Wendy Murphy & Keith Rollag & Jeffrey Shay, 2025. "A conceptual model of entrepreneurial leadership: how entrepreneurial leaders enable entrepreneurial opportunity," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, December.
    4. Elhem Ben Fatma & Léo-Paul Dana & Souhir Elleuch & Ezzeddine Ben Mohamed, 2024. "Does dispositional optimism affect entrepreneurial success? Evidence from Saudi Arabia," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 1127-1152, June.
    5. Rossana Piccolo, 2024. "Digitisation, health literacy and health empowerment of older people," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 3001-3034, December.
    6. Matti Muhos & Martti Saarela & Delbert Foit & Lada Rasochova, 2019. "Management priorities of digital health service start-ups in California," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 43-62, March.
    7. Leonardo Mazzoni & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2025. "Unpacking the drivers of the socio-environmental sustainability of new ventures: insights from innovative digital start-ups in Italy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-35, December.
    8. Leone, Daniele & Schiavone, Francesco & Appio, Francesco Paolo & Chiao, Benjamin, 2021. "How does artificial intelligence enable and enhance value co-creation in industrial markets? An exploratory case study in the healthcare ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 849-859.
    9. Sebastian Hermes & Tobias Riasanow & Eric K. Clemons & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "The digital transformation of the healthcare industry: exploring the rise of emerging platform ecosystems and their influence on the role of patients," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(3), pages 1033-1069, November.
    10. Maria Emilsson & Ulf Ernstson & Linn Gustavsson & Ann Svensson, 2020. "Sustainable Innovations in Small Enterprises for the Transformation of the Primary Healthcare Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-19, August.
    11. Xiao Wen Wang & Muhammad Umar & Nada Khaddage-Soboh & Adnan Safi, 2024. "From innovation to impact: unraveling the complexities of entrepreneurship in the digital age," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 3207-3221, December.
    12. Fabiola Gómez-Jorge & Sara Bermejo-Olivas & Eloísa Díaz-Garrido & Isabel Soriano-Pinar, 2025. "Success in entrepreneurship: the impact of self-esteem and entrepreneurial orientation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-43, December.
    13. Cozzolino, Alessio & Geiger, Susi, 2024. "Ecosystem disruption and regulatory positioning: Entry strategies of digital health startup orchestrators and complementors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    14. Helen Haugh, 2007. "Community–Led Social Venture Creation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(2), pages 161-182, March.
    15. Chakraborty, Imon & Ilavarasan, P. Vigneswara & Edirippulige, Sisira, 2021. "Health-tech startups in healthcare service delivery: A scoping review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    16. Cannone, Giusy & Ughetto, Elisa, 2014. "Born globals: A cross-country survey on high-tech start-ups," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 272-283.
    17. Neil Lee, 2014. "What holds back high-growth firms? Evidence from UK SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 183-195, June.
    18. Michiko Iizuka & Gerald Hane, 2021. "Towards attaining the SDGs: cases of disruptive and inclusive innovations," Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2-3), pages 343-364, September.
    19. Matthew R. Marvel, 2013. "Human Capital and Search–Based Discovery: A Study of High–Tech Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 403-419, March.
    20. Essen, Anna & Frishammar, Johan & Cenamor, Javier, 2023. "Entering non-platformized sectors: The Co-evolution of legitimacy debates and platform business models in digital health care," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    21. Haessler, Philipp & Giones, Ferran & Brem, Alexander, 2023. "The who and how of commercializing emerging technologies: A technology-focused review," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    22. Dushnitsky, Gary & Stroube, Bryan K., 2021. "Low-code entrepreneurship: Shopify and the alternative path to growth," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    23. Franz Simon & Rainer Harms & Holger Schiele, 2019. "Managing corporate-startup relationships: what matters for entrepreneurs?," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(2), pages 164-186.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dal Mas, Francesca & Massaro, Maurizio & Rippa, Pierluigi & Secundo, Giustina, 2023. "The challenges of digital transformation in healthcare: An interdisciplinary literature review, framework, and future research agenda," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Chang, Victor & Doan, Le Minh Thao & Ariel Xu, Qianwen & Hall, Karl & Anna Wang, Yuanyuan & Mustafa Kamal, Muhammad, 2023. "Digitalization in omnichannel healthcare supply chain businesses: The role of smart wearable devices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    3. Dhir, Amandeep & N., Meenakshi & Nawaz, Rabiya & Kaur, Puneet, 2024. "How do we pivot? Facilitators, inhibitors, and strategies of tech healthcare startups before, during, and after a crisis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    4. Bag, Surajit & Dhamija, Pavitra & Singh, Rajesh Kumar & Rahman, Muhammad Sabbir & Sreedharan, V. Raja, 2023. "Big data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies based collaborative platform empowering absorptive capacity in health care supply chain: An empirical study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Kapoor, Rahul & West, Joel, 2024. "Focusing the ecosystem lens on innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    6. Filip Nowak & Jacek Krzywy & Witold Statkiewicz, 2022. "Study on the Impact of the Use of No-code Application on Internal Logistics Processes in a Company from the E-Commerce Industry - Process Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special A), pages 59-71.
    7. Robin Stevens & Nathalie Moray & Johan Bruneel, 2015. "The Social and Economic Mission of Social Enterprises: Dimensions, Measurement, Validation, and Relation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(5), pages 1051-1082, September.
    8. Meyer, Camille, 2020. "The commons: A model for understanding collective action and entrepreneurship in communities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(5).
    9. Christina Theodoraki & Alexis Catanzaro, 2022. "Widening the borders of entrepreneurial ecosystem through the international lens," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 383-406, April.
    10. Pravee Kruachottikul & Pinnaree Tea-makorn & Poomsiri Dumrongvute & Solaphat Hemrungrojn & Natawut Nupairoj & Ornsiree Junchaya & Sukrit Vinayavekhin, 2024. "MediGate: a MedTech product innovation development process from university research to successful commercialization within emerging markets," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-43, December.
    11. Romi Kher & Shu Yang & Scott L. Newbert, 2023. "Accelerating emergence: the causal (but contextual) effect of social impact accelerators on nascent for-profit social ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 389-413, June.
    12. Miguel A. Hernandez, 2019. "Unveiling International New Ventures’ Success: Employee’s Entrepreneurial Behavior," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-32, August.
    13. Tan, Alvin & Brewer, Paul & Liesch, Peter, 2018. "Rigidity in SME export commencement decisions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 46-55.
    14. Garcia-Perez, Alexeis & Cegarra-Navarro, Juan Gabriel & Sallos, Mark Paul & Martinez-Caro, Eva & Chinnaswamy, Anitha, 2023. "Resilience in healthcare systems: Cyber security and digital transformation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    15. Neil Lee & Davide Luca, 2019. "The big-city bias in access to finance: evidence from firm perceptions in almost 100 countries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 199-224.
    16. Elisa Ughetto, 2016. "Growth of born globals: the role of the entrepreneur’s personal factors and venture capital," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 839-857, September.
    17. 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.
    18. Alla Mostepaniuk & Turgay Akalin & Mohammad Reza Parish, 2023. "Practices Pursuing the Sustainability of A Healthcare Organization: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    19. Cristina Guillamón & Enrique Moral-Benito & Sergio Puente, 2017. "High growth firms in employment and productivity: dynamic interactions and the role of financial constraints?," Working Papers 1718, Banco de España.
    20. Ingrid Wakkee & Marijke Van Der Veen & Willo Eurlings, 2015. "Effective Growth Paths for SMEs," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 24(2), pages 169-185, September.

    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:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-025-01081-w. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.