Salman, Rabia and Shabbir, Muhammad ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0796-0456 (2026) The Human Side of Scaling: Examining Identity, Leadership, and Capability Formation in Growing Ventures. Journal of the International Council for Small Business (JICSB).

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Abstract

Scaling entrepreneurial ventures is vital for diversification and employment creation, yet the human and organizational processes enabling this transition remain underexplored, particularly in emerging markets. This study examines how founder identity, leadership practices, and capability formation shape the scaling of small and medium-sized enterprises in Oman. A sequential mixed-methods design integrates structural equation modeling of survey data from 214 founders with in-depth interviews to capture both statistical patterns and lived experience. The model explains a substantial share of variance in scaling outcomes, showing that identity salience and communitarian orientations are positively associated with scaling, while transformational leadership and learning-based capabilities significantly predict growth performance. Qualitative findings further reveal how identity functions as a relational anchor, how leadership is enacted through trust and shared responsibility, and how capabilities develop through experimentation and institutional navigation. Scaling is thus conceptualized as a culturally embedded, human-centered process with implications for theory, policy, and practice.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
DOI:	10.1080/26437015.2026.2661327
School/Department:	York Business School
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/14631

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