加速新創公司破繭而出的推手：海外創業中介組織的角色

How can an overseas intermediary facilitate the evolution process of start-ups? Evidence from Taiwan

本研究探討新型態的海外創業中介組織（即台灣創新創業中心）的運作模式，並以複雜調適系統的觀點，分析三個台灣新創公司在台灣矽谷創業系統的內部與外部碰撞、交集、相互調整、相互適應及累積的共演化歷程，試圖揭開國際創業過程中「潘朵拉盒子」的一角。研究結果發現：(1)自組織行為是創業團隊涌現(重新配置各式資源、重新形塑營運模式、重新鏈結價值網絡)出國際化型態的重要關鍵；(2)市場脈動是各層次不同參與者共同演化的主要吸力；(3)海外創業中介組織是新創公司涌現國際化型態的催化劑。本研究是國際創業文獻中，少數領先提出並實證海外創業中介組織的新型態及功能角色，我們也提出新創公司型態分類的參考依據，並挖掘其國際化過程中的調適歷程。文末，我們也對新興國家或資源不足的經濟體在創業國際化議題上，提出政策性及實務管理上的建議與意涵。

The internal workings of how overseas intermediaries serve to accelerate the evolution process of start-ups remain in a‘black box’in the current literature on international entrepreneurship. This paper uses qualitative research methods and the“complex adaptive system”concept to explore interactions between Taiwan’s overseas start-up intermediary, the Taiwan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), and three Taiwanese start-ups to examine the evolution process and the role played by TIEC in each start-ups’emergence. Our results show that: (1) self-organizing behavior—such as reshaping the business model, reconfiguring various resources, and re-connecting with networks—are the keys to a start-up's successful emergence in the international market; (2) market-oriented activities act as an attractor for actors in different levels of the complex adaptive system; (3) the role of an overseas start-up intermediary is to act as a catalyst for the emergence of a start-up’s internationalization. This study contributes to the extant literature on international entrepreneurship by both proposing and providing evidence of the role of overseas start-up intermediaries. We also outline practical management implications and provide policy suggestions for emerging economies that wish to accelerate the evolution and internationalization of their start-ups.