Why Ventures Scale, Stall, or Collapse in Fast-Advancing Societies

This paper develops a strategic framework explaining why entrepreneurial ventures in fast-advancing societies follow divergent trajectories of scaling, stagnation, or collapse. Building on the Fast-Advancing Societies (FAS) framework, the paper examines how institutional asynchrony, cultural legitimacy, and consumer capital interact to shape venture outcomes. It proposes that conventional strategy frameworks derived from stable institutional environments fail to adequately explain entrepreneurial performance in rapidly transforming markets. The paper identifies distinct mechanisms that influence venture scaling, including legitimacy formation, coordination constraints, imitation risk, and the accumulation or erosion of consumer capital. Originally disseminated as an SSRN Working Paper. SSRN abstract page:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6270778