Growth Hacking: A Critical Review to Clarify its Meaning and Guide its Practical Application

There is an increasing recognition among academics and practitioners that growth hacking provides a means to bridge the gap between strategy definition and strategy implementation. Significant tensions tend to arise across this gap. However, the data-driven experimentation, and the organizational capabilities developed within the firm, increase the ability of the company to foster technological forecasting and business model innovation. It is argued within this paper, that growth hacking actually mitigates these tensions. This paper is a critical review complemented with insights from practitioners and an illustrative case, the purpose of which is to: a) shed light on what growth hacking is; b) give practical tips on how to implement growth hacking. In achieving the first goal, the paper unravels the following myths. First, growth hacking is not a framework for platforms and high-tech companies only. Second, it is not only a marketing strategy and third, that growth hacking is a predefined process. These issues are traced back to two flawed assumptions underlying growth hacking; namely that (a) it is a framework designed for start-ups only and (b) that a “one size fits all” approach to growth hacking is appropriate. By unravelling those issues and combining these observations we shall provide ground for a fundamentally different approach to growth hacking, designed for business model scalability, enabled for adaptability in a changing business environment and focused throughout on the effective management of a firm's resources and capabilities. These insights shall guide scholars towards a better understanding of the phenomenon and of the two waves that characterize its evolution, providing also promising future research avenues. Moreover, the implications drawn from the discussion shall help managers in guiding their journey from strategy definition to strategy implementation.