Growing in the Digital Economy: The Case of a Digital Enterprise in a Developing Country

Africa has a higher business discontinuation rate of 13 percent when compared with that of Europe and the USA. This situation calls for a study that explores the strategic actions and growth of digital enterprises which are able to survive within the African context. Again, studies on Digital Business Strategy (DBS) which is a multidimensional concept focus on digital enterprises with formalised structures. Against this background, using a comprehensive DBS framework, this study explored the DBS evolution of a digital enterprise in a developing economy in the quest to survive and grow. Miles and Huberman’s transcendental realism technique was adopted for the case analysis. Three major growth events were identified in the case. The digital business strategic actions of the enterprise were reviewed for each of the phases of growth. It was discovered that the survival of the digital enterprise, in the first stage of growth, depends largely on the entrepreneur's innovativeness, and the competence to govern the available resources to achieve competitive advantage. This research is arguably the first to explore the growth and survival of a digital enterprise using a multidimensional DBS framework. Lessons from the study are of practical importance to managers and executives of digital enterprises who are struggling to develop digital business strategic actions to survive and grow. This study is useful for entrepreneurs who wish to develop DBS to survive and thrive in the digital economy of an African country.