Sustainable Growth Strategies for Startups: A Global Perspective
Shakib, Saif Ahamed (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052817764
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052817764
Tiivistelmä
Startups are a core component of modern economies, but their journey towards sustainable growth is incessantly disrupted by limited resources and dynamic environments. The objective of this study was to analyze startup sustainable growth mechanisms from a global perspective with Pathao, a leading digital platform in Bangladesh, as a case firm.
The study drew on startup growth and sustainability literature and applied the Uppsala Model, Porter's Diamond Model, and the Born Global Theory as conceptual frameworks to explore the growth and inter-nationalization strategies of startups.
A qualitative method was applied. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with five signifi-cant stakeholders of Pathao and were analyzed through theory-assisted thematic analysis to reveal pat-terns and findings on growth and sustainability.
The study illustrated that Pathao's sustainable growth was the outcome of innovation in service delivery, extensive market knowledge, and strategic use of digital platforms. The company addressed challenges like regulatory limitations, scarce funds, and competition through the adoption of agile business models and the use of digital technologies. Internationalization was influenced by both internal sources of strength and by the forces of the external market. Additionally, Pathao practiced green methods and inclusive hiring policies, maintaining international standards of sustainability. These results help under-stand how frontier market startups can grow sustainably to compete on the global stage.
The study drew on startup growth and sustainability literature and applied the Uppsala Model, Porter's Diamond Model, and the Born Global Theory as conceptual frameworks to explore the growth and inter-nationalization strategies of startups.
A qualitative method was applied. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with five signifi-cant stakeholders of Pathao and were analyzed through theory-assisted thematic analysis to reveal pat-terns and findings on growth and sustainability.
The study illustrated that Pathao's sustainable growth was the outcome of innovation in service delivery, extensive market knowledge, and strategic use of digital platforms. The company addressed challenges like regulatory limitations, scarce funds, and competition through the adoption of agile business models and the use of digital technologies. Internationalization was influenced by both internal sources of strength and by the forces of the external market. Additionally, Pathao practiced green methods and inclusive hiring policies, maintaining international standards of sustainability. These results help under-stand how frontier market startups can grow sustainably to compete on the global stage.