Scaling the user base of digital ventures through generative pattern replication : the case of ridesharing

Digital ventures, for example Uber and Airbnb, seek to scale their user base quickly and effectively across markets in order to lock out competitors and drive adoption through positive feedback loops. I view such rapid global scaling as an organising logic by which digital ventures replicate a generic solution to recurring challenges. This thesis intends to understand the process by which digital ventures scale across a multitude of varied regional markets. By arguing that this process is qualitatively different from our current conceptualisations of scaling I aim to encourage more researchers to pay heed to scaling as an integral part of digital innovation literature. To this end I present a qualitative study of a digital venture called BlaBlaCar, a ridesharing venture that rapidly scaled its user base into 22 markets. My findings are based on original data, collected over a course of two years in two stages. First, by collecting observational data for four months, and second, by collecting 58 interviews across 15 offices globally. In this thesis I distinguish and describe scaling as the process of generative pattern replication (GPR), where an existing scaling pattern is specialised to the specific circumstances of a new market, and applied there. I trace three mechanisms underpinning rapid scaling across regional boundaries: instantiation, venture meshing, and value frame. I explain these mechanisms and how they interact in the process of GPR. My research speaks to the digital innovation literature by making a unique contribution: a novel perspective on scaling of digital ventures including a process model and related mechanisms. In addition, my proposed research findings have the potential to offer valuable insights for digital ventures looking for novel scaling and digital innovation management tools

Scaling the User Base of Digital Ventures Through Generative Pattern Replication: The Case of Ridesharing.

Digital ventures seek to scale their user base quickly and effectively across markets in order to lock out competitors and drive adoption through positive feedback loops. We view such rapid global scaling as an organising logic by which ventures replicate a generic solution to recurring challenges, that are found in expanding a user base across markets; which is usually characterized by slight variables in their conditions. We distinguish and describe this as a process of “generative pattern replication”, where an existing scaling pattern is specialised to the specific circumstances of the new market, and applied there. For our study we looked at BlaBlaCar, a ridesharing venture that has rapidly scaled its business into 22 markets, to gain a better understanding about this generative process. Our research contributes to the digital innovation literature by proposing a novel perspective on the scaling of digital ventures.

Everyday digital entrepreneurship : the inception, shifts, and scaling of future shaping practices

Digitization has created extremely favourable conditions for digital innovation, initiating shifts in the organizing logic of products, services, and various aspects of organizational practices. Current literature has eagerly explored this digitally enabled diversification. However, it has paid little attention to the digitisation of everyday practices and how forms of entrepreneurship emerge from such practices. In this paper we propose that digital technology instigates a new type of digital innovation – future-shaping practices, and will attempt to exemplify and explore the forces behind such newly emerging everyday practices. Our research draws on a multimethod research design based on four case studies that represent future shaping practices in transportation, healthcare, education, and sustainability. Drawing on document analysis and semi-structured interviews, we report on our research-in-progress that seeks to determine the generative mechanisms that enable the inception, shift, and scaling of future shaping practices

Everyday Digital Entrepreneurship: The Inception, Shifts, and Scaling of Future Shaping Practices

Digitization has created extremely favourable conditions for digital innovation, initiating shifts in the organizing logic of products, services, and various aspects of organizational practices. Current literature has eagerly explored this digitally enabled diversification. However, it has paid little attention to the digitisation of everyday practices and how forms of entrepreneurship emerge from such practices. In this paper we propose that digital technology instigates a new type of digital innovation – future-shaping practices, and will attempt to exemplify and explore the forces behind such newly emerging everyday practices. Our research draws on a multimethod research design based on four case studies that represent future shaping practices in transportation, healthcare, education, and sustainability. Drawing on document analysis and semi-structured interviews, we report on our research-in-progress that seeks to determine the generative mechanisms that enable the inception, shift, and scaling of future shaping practices

The black student experience : comparing STEM undergraduate student experiences at Higher Education institutions of varying student demographic

Although having shown signs of closing in recent years, the Black attainment gap in UK Higher Education continues to be significant and, as such, has received considerable attention in the literature, media, and government. The reasons behind the attainment gap are complex, requiring further research in the area. On observing a possible trend in Black students’ lower attendance, the following research questions were postulated: Is there any evidence to suggest that Black students are overrepresented among those students who have a low attendance track record? If so, what are the reasons to explain this overrepresentation, and how can this be addressed? Quantitative attendance data analysis suggested that at one department Black students were indeed more likely to disengage from their course than non-Black students. With limited prior studies, particularly within STEM subjects, the exploration of Black students’ experiences in STEM departments at two UK universities of differing student ethnicity demographic, but similar staff ethnicity demographic, is reported herein, using a methodology that has not been used in STEM within higher education to our knowledge. The results reveal that Black students often do not feel represented or welcome at university, frequently turning to their university societies rather than their department/school for support where they feel more able to relate to others of similar ethnicity and discuss their experiences. Furthermore, they may benefit from a greater diversity of teaching and assessment approaches than is currently on offer, moving away from traditional lectures and with a greater emphasis on small group teaching. While some minor differences were observed between the students’ experiences at institutions of differing student ethnicity demographic, the findings show that the lack of representation in the staff body, the use of “traditional” teaching approaches ,and the practice of “spreading” Black (and other minority ethnic) students evenly across small teaching groups are very likely having a detrimental effect, with the knock-on consequences of reduced attendance, course engagement, and attainment

The Black Student Experience: Comparing STEM Undergraduate Student Experiences at Higher Education Institutions of Varying Student Demographic

Although having shown signs of closing in recent years, the Black attainment gap in UK Higher Education continues to be significant and, as such, has received considerable attention in the literature, media, and government. The reasons behind the attainment gap are complex, requiring further research in the area. On observing a possible trend in Black students’ lower attendance, the following research questions were postulated: Is there any evidence to suggest that Black students are overrepresented among those students who have a low attendance track record? If so, what are the reasons to explain this overrepresentation, and how can this be addressed? Quantitative attendance data analysis suggested that at one department Black students were indeed more likely to disengage from their course than non-Black students. With limited prior studies, particularly within STEM subjects, the exploration of Black students’ experiences in STEM departments at two UK universities of differing student ethnicity demographic, but similar staff ethnicity demographic, is reported herein, using a methodology that has not been used in STEM within higher education to our knowledge. The results reveal that Black students often do not feel represented or welcome at university, frequently turning to their university societies rather than their department/school for support where they feel more able to relate to others of similar ethnicity and discuss their experiences. Furthermore, they may benefit from a greater diversity of teaching and assessment approaches than is currently on offer, moving away from traditional lectures and with a greater emphasis on small group teaching. While some minor differences were observed between the students’ experiences at institutions of differing student ethnicity demographic, the findings show that the lack of representation in the staff body, the use of “traditional” teaching approaches ,and the practice of “spreading” Black (and other minority ethnic) students evenly across small teaching groups are very likely having a detrimental effect, with the knock-on consequences of reduced attendance, course engagement, and attainment