Table 3

Illustrative data and coding structure: controls (exposure bandwidth, temporal cadence) and breakdown modes (stall, flood, churn)

Illustrative data excerpt (ID)First-order open code (informant-near)Second-order themeAggregate dimension
“I had no savings, no investors, and worked from a borrowed desk” (I4)Minimal slack to risk at once (bandwidth)Control settings (exposure bandwidth and temporal cadence)Controls
“With very limited capital, I had to start very modestly … buy on credit” (I8)Resource tightness constrains bet size (bandwidth)
“Sometimes I struggled to pay rent” (I7)Tight liquidity limits parallel probes (bandwidth)
“I started with only 5,000 BDT …” (I10)Cap on exposure per cycle (bandwidth)
“I saved from tutoring … little by little” (I3)Micro-exposures accumulated over time (bandwidth)
“I used to give free samples—‘try it once, if you don't like it, don't take it’” (I4)Tiny, reversible bets with bounded downside (bandwidth)
[synthesis] We ran 2–3 probes in parallel only once small wins created slackParallelism increases with slack (bandwidth)
“Every quarter, it's an inflection point … constant evolution in my role” (I18)Review cadence set to quarterly inflection points (cadence)
“I can only predict 10–20% … inflation makes it impossible to stick to plans” (I22)Shortened planning horizon; faster feedback needs (cadence)
“When things went wrong, I quickly adjusted and tried again” (I6)Cycle-time compression after setbacks (cadence)
[synthesis] After early wins cycles lengthened; aftershocks cycles shortenedCadence tuned to evidence strength (cadence)
“Sometimes I felt I might have taken the wrong path … wanted to give up” (I5)Prolonged hesitation after setbacksStall (over-prevention)Breakdown modes
[synthesis] After a shock we kept narrowing exposure; probes were delayedProbe avoidance post-shock
“Food would often go to waste, and I faced losses” (I7)Over-extension produced waste/lossesFlood (over-promotion)
[synthesis] Too many bets launched without readouts; losses accumulatedUndisciplined proliferation without evidence
[synthesis] We switched offerings before signals matured; customers confusedPremature switching before readoutsChurn (mistimed switching)
[synthesis] Frequent reversals increased coordination costs, eroded legitimacyOscillation costs from rapid reversals
Source(s): Authors' own work

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