Startups' Adoption of Growth Hacking: An Empirical Study in Tunisia

In Tunisia, most startups are run by small teams that often lack formal training in marketing and find themselves operating in a fragmented market with limited resources. For this reason, this research seeks to address the current academic gap by posing the following question: How do Tunisian entrepreneurs adopt digital marketing strategies and growth hacking within a resource-constrained environment? The objective is to determine whether growth hacking, in its adapted form, can foster sustainable development and provide a competitive advantage in the context of an emerging economy despite structural difficulties. To explore this complex issue and investigate the details of entrepreneurial practices, we adopted a qualitative approach centered on multiple case studies. This approach is particularly well-suited for conducting an in-depth analysis of decision-making processes, entrepreneurial behaviors, and adaptation strategies within their original context, facilitating the capture of the complexities and nuances of the individuals’ experiences. The dataset comprises 19 semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2024 and July 2025.