Pinar Ozcan of Oxford University was a recipient of the Research in Strategic Management Grant program. Learn more about their work:
What is your research question/topic?
Our project, “Extended Gestation: Scaling Amid Regulatory Hurdles,” examines how entrepreneurial ventures navigate prolonged regulatory hurdles that delay formal scaling. We study a digital-first financial services venture in Ghana that spent nearly a decade working toward a banking license while building a business model focused on expanding financial inclusion for underserved small and medium-sized enterprises. The project explores how such ventures develop capabilities, legitimacy, and stakeholder trust when formal scaling is delayed, and how innovation continues even when regulatory approval remains out of reach.
What are you hoping to accomplish through your research?
We aim to deepen understanding of what we describe as the “gestation” period of scaling. Many entrepreneurial ventures, especially those in financial services and other heavily regulated industries, undergo extended pre-licensing or pre-scaling phases, during which many fail. What further complicates matters, in addition to complex regulatory processes, is the fast pace of technological and market change. Through longitudinal fieldwork in Ghana, we document how entrepreneurs continue learning and refining their models despite delays, and how they keep mission-driven innovation alive throughout the process. By analyzing the trajectory of a digital-first fintech in Ghana founded to drive financial inclusion, we aim to generate insights that speak to both scholars of strategy and practitioners working to tackle societal challenges.
What impact could this research have more broadly on the field of strategic management?
Strategic management research has traditionally focused on growth dynamics once firms are ready to scale, often assuming that pre-scaling phases are brief. Our study will demonstrate that regulatory uncertainty can stretch the pre-scaling period for years, fundamentally reshaping key decisions regarding capability development and investment, and creating serious implications for initiatives with social missions. By conceptualizing gestation for scaling as a distinct phase, which is particularly salient in highly regulated sectors, we reframe workarounds as intentional strategic responses rather than temporary fixes. This helps extend theory on scaling and innovation in contexts where the rules are evolving alongside the firms themselves.
What SMS resources (members, workshops, events, etc.) were helpful to you during the application process?
The SMS community played a meaningful role in shaping this project. Conversations at SMS conferences, especially around entrepreneurial growth, institutions, and emerging markets, helped refine our thinking about how regulatory and institutional frictions influence scaling.
Who inspires you the most to do this work? (whether that is professionally or personally).
I was especially inspired by the CEO of a Ghana-based fintech that we plan to study, whose persistence over nearly a decade reflects a deep commitment to expanding financial access for underserved small and medium-sized enterprises. I have been particularly moved by this resilience and mission-driven approach in growing a business in a lesser-known market. More broadly, I am inspired by the many socially oriented entrepreneurs and organizations across Africa who are leading some of the world’s most exciting developments in financial innovation. Their inclusive and creative solutions are delivering tangible progress in expanding access to finance across the continent, offering important management lessons that deserve wider dissemination.