دراسات العدد الاقتصادي
Volume 17, Numéro 2, Pages 83-96
2026-06-30

Startup Scalability In Constrained Ecosystems: Evidence From Algerian Scale-up Archetypes



Authors : Keddari Keddari . Boughaleb Sadek El Amine . Benkhider Naima . Berrached Berbar Wafaa . Kherbachi Sonia . Abedou Abderrahmane .

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.

Keywords

Startup scalability ; entrepreneurial ecosystems ; Algeria ; scaling strategies ; emerging economies

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