Startup Scalability in Constrained Ecosystems: Evidence from Algerian Scale-Up Archetypes

Abstract

This study examines how Algerian startups configure and adapt their scaling strategies within a constrained entrepreneurial ecosystem. It addresses the extent to which scalability is constrained by institutional, financial, and infrastructural limitations in an emerging-economy context. Using a qualitative abductive design, the research combines interviews, documentary analysis, and digital trace data from 17 startups across multiple sectors. The analysis draws on Piaskowska’s scale-up archetypes and Jansen’s scalability dimensions to interpret heterogeneous growth trajectories. Findings identify four scaling archetypes: Network Growers, Organic Innovators, Focused Scalers, and Constricted Scalers. Results show that scalability is driven less by growth ambition than by adaptive strategies shaped by ecosystem constraints. Sequential scaling, trust-building, and hybrid revenue models emerge as key enablers of growth. The study extends existing scalability frameworks to a constrained, emerging-economy setting by highlighting the importance of context-sensitive, rather than universal, scaling models.