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Much global strategy research explores the management of competing strategic demands. Although these demands vary by a firm's context, the focus has been largely on established long‐lived multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are not based on digital technologies. There is thus a need to extend theory to take into account the co‐existence of rapid growth and digitization, a condition which is increasingly prominent. This study of globally scaling digital firms shows that they navigate the paradoxical demands of replication, to achieve frictionless rapid growth, and entrepreneurship, to innovate and remain competitive. We provide a theoretical model, which shows how MNEs navigate this global scaling paradox through a virtuous cycle of identifying innovations that can be replicated. Surprisingly, given the ease of modifying digital products and services, navigating the global scaling paradox …