The 'Digital Fa?ade' of Rapidly Growing Entrepreneurial Organizations Completed Research Paper

摘要

Entrepreneurial organizations that grow into larger established enterprises typically undergo periods of rapid growth that are rife with challenges. Although it is clear that digital technologies have been a key driver in organizational transformation for decades, their role in the growth of entrepreneurial organizations is virtually absent in the literature. This paper reports the findings from an exploratory study of 16 entrepreneurial organizations that are undergoing, or have undergone, periods of rapid growth. Our analysis suggests that digital technologies often complement or even substitute for organizational practices commonly associated with enabling growth. From this analysis, we identify one important mechanism whereby digital technologies enable this growth--what we refer to as the "digital fa?ade." A minimally-implemented digital facade enables companies to loosely couple their activities from the presentation of these activities to customers and partners. This fa?ade provides a space for the organizations to build necessary digital capabilities.