## 2 Theoretical Framework
### Impact of the COVID-19 on Accelerators  
So far, very few studies have addressed the question of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on accelerator programmes, and the role of digital technologies in their activities. [PERSON] et al. (2018) have provided the first analysis of the effect of the pandemic on accelerator and incubator programmes, albeit only at the UK level. They found that the pandemic affected many different aspects, such as the source of funding, use of space, programme offerings, staffing and safety of both members and teams. A related contribution is that of ([PERSON] et al., 2018), where the authors propose a new accelerator model for a post-COVID world, or the contribution of ([PERSON] et al., 2018), where the authors describe a case study of digital-enabled redesign of entrepreneurship education. In this section, we contribute to this growing body of literature by providing a first-hand observation of the cohorts that participated in four acceleration programmes in Europe, two of them pre-COVID, two during COVID. From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the accelerators were subject to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities ([PERSON] et al., 2018), which included social distancing ([PERSON] et al., 2018; [PERSON] et al., 2018), limiting opening hours, confinement, disinfection of their facilities and COVID-19 testing. The authors in ([PERSON] et al., 2018) describe how companies could reshape results and plan for a COVID-19 recovery. Accelerators also had to adapt traditional programmes to the new situation, discovering and increasing the use of new digital technologies ([PERSON] et al., 2018). Meeting restrictions and social distancing requirements made it impossible to hold workshops, networking events and face-to-face demonstration days, which led to the urgent need to select virtual platforms ([PERSON] et al., 2018) that would allow for a rapid adaptation of programmes. In effect, the pandemic made it necessary to design and implement new ways ([PERSON] et al., 2018) of doing things in the acceleration programmes. Whereas before COVID-19, accelerators tended to include face-to-face selection as part of their recruitment, this recruitment process became fully virtual, increasing the use of social media, alumni referrals and online networking events ([PERSON] et al., 2018). In the case of the accelerator under study, as in others, the delivery of the programme content also had to be adapted, moving to online channels that replaced face-to-face meetings. Workshops, lunch breaks, coffee breaks and other activities had to become virtual, forcing the exploration of innovative platforms that allowed meeting in a virtual space to stimulate interaction between all participants in the programme. In some cases, this transformation was an obstacle for accelerators working at a local or regional level, who were less used to working in digital environments. All of them had to transform their programming and contents to the new situation in a very short period. In the case of our accelerator, the transition was less difficult, as the acceleration programmes had already catered to founders sourced globally and had therefore already experimented with certain online elements, including recruitment and onboarding.