Structuring experimentation: Implementing Growth Hacking in new ventures

Abstract

Recent academic and managerial literature has paid significant attention to experimentation methods employed at different stages of a new venture’s lifecycle. Alongside the widely popularized Lean Startup method, Growth Hacking has emerged as an effective approach for supporting venture growth. While previous studies have examined experimentation from the process and individual perspectives, research on the integration of these methods within increasingly complex organizational structures remains limited. This article presents a comparative case study of two new ventures that adopted Growth Hacking while scaling. The findings reveal two approaches to the organizational implementation of Growth Hacking—either bridging or permeating experimentation throughout the organization—and explore their characteristics in terms of organizational configuration, the structure of marketing and product units, key roles, governance of experimentation, and associated benefits and shortcomings. These findings contribute to the literature on structuring experimentation and scaling in new ventures.