Building a scalable workforce in entrepreneurial firms: practices and activities for reconciling the change-stability paradox

An inductive design, grounded in the Gioia methodology, enabled insight through iterative coding. Findings identify three paradoxes underpinning workforce scalability: agility–cohesion, exploration–focus, and autonomy–discipline. High-growth firms do not resolve these tensions via simple trade-offs; they reconcile them through portfolios of mutually reinforcing human practices.

The thesis theorises three mechanisms that enable reconciliation. Harmonising addresses agility–cohesion through social bonding, collaborative hiring and shared rituals. Anchoring navigates exploration–focus by embedding expert mentorship, lightweight governance, and structured experimentation.

Entrusting balances autonomy–discipline by setting clear boundaries that encourage initiative while ensuring reliability. The research extends paradox theory into the underexplored domain of workforce scalability and bridges scaling scholarship with human resource challenges. It offers an integrated framework explaining how digital ventures manage tensions through practice rather than attempting to eliminate them.

For scholars, the work refines the activities of scaling; for practitioners, it provides guidance on orchestrating people systems that grow as fast as code. Ultimately, the thesis<br>argues that embracing paradox is a strategic imperative for scaling.