No abstract

Purpose The majority of emerging and young firms work under resource constraints. This has made researchers highlight the importance of resourcefulness. Perhaps the most important theoretical development in this context is the emerging, behavioral theory of entrepreneurial bricolage. However, although academic interest is increasing, research on entrepreneurial bricolage has been hampered by the lack of robust instruments that allow large-scale theory testing. The purpose is to help fill this void. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and contents of a novel measure of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior and assesses its validity. The measure is intended to be applicable in broadly based, quantitative studies. Design/methodology/approach The instrument was developed as a unidimensional, reflective measure. Standard protocols for scale development were followed. The validation uses primary, longitudinal data from four samples of nascent and young firms as well as published, cross-sectional evidence from another four samples representing different contexts and variations to the data collection procedure. Findings Promising results are reported concerning the reliability as well as the discriminant and nomological validity of the measure. Based on the pre-testing and validation experiences guidelines are also provided for attempts at further improvements. Originality/value This paper presents a novel measure developed by the authors, which holds promise for being a useful tool for future research on the prevalence, antecedents, and consequences of entrepreneurial bricolage. Previously, no established measure of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior existed, and the few partial measures appearing in the literature have not been comprehensively evaluated. Thus, we offer a comprehensive and elaborate presentation of a measure only briefly introduced in Davidsson (2016) and Senyard et al., (2014).

While prior research suggests that entrepreneurial bricolage is often useful as a coping mechanism for resource-constrained new ventures, other accounts document detrimental effects of bricolage. As the conditions for effective bricolage have not been systematically examined in prior research, we develop and test theoretical explanations for some important boundary conditions. We propose that while bricolage has a positive influence through a resource replacement mechanism, it may be detrimental through the intertwined “second-best solutions” and “tinkering trap,” which together lead to an accumulation of compromises that may result in a detrimental path dependence. We hypothesize that the intensity of these counteracting mechanisms differs depending on the venture's stage of development (nascent vs. operational) and its level of growth expectations. In essence, we argue that ventures expecting to achieve more derive greater benefit from resource replacement. In addition, they are more likely to resist an accumulation of compromises. We test our hypotheses using a longitudinal study of early-stage ventures. Although the results mostly support our theory, they also point to one interesting surprise for which we extend our theorizing to propose an explanation. Counter to the prevailing view in the literature, we find that bricolage is particularly effective for developing competitiveness for early-stage ventures striving to develop and grow. Complementing this, our results suggest the net effects of bricolage may actually be detrimental to the competitiveness of operational ventures that are not actively trying to grow.