Creating Something from Nothing: Resource Construction through Entrepreneurial Bricolage

Abstract

A field study of 29 resource-constrained firms that varied dramatically in their responses to similar objective environments is used to examine the process by which entrepreneurs in resource-poor environments were able to render unique services by recombining elements at hand for new purposes that challenged institutional definitions and limits. We found that Lévi-Strauss's concept of bricolage—making do with what is at hand—explained many of the behaviors we observed in small firms that were able to create something from nothing by exploiting physical, social, or institutional inputs that other firms rejected or ignored. We demonstrate the socially constructed nature of resource environments and the role of bricolage in this construction. Using our field data and the existing literature on bricolage, we advance a formal definition of entrepreneurial bricolage and induce the beginnings of a process model of bricolage and firm growth. Central to our contribution is the notion that companies engaging in bricolage refuse to enact the limitations imposed by dominant definitions of resource environments, suggesting that, for understanding entrepreneurial behavior, a constructivist approach to resource environments is more fruitful than objectivist views.

Endings and Visions of New Beginnings: The Effects of Source of Unemployment and Duration of Unemployment on Entrepreneurial Intent

“…Similarly, the feasibility of entrepreneurship should also be enhanced because the long-term unemployed have time to pursue the planning of a new venture, to perform market research, and to conduct other activities that focus intent and are preliminary to actual business founding. In an age where people increasingly start businesses by "making do" with the limited resources available (Baker and Nelson 2005;Sarasvathy 2001;Stinchfield, Nelson, and Wood 2012), time and energy become catalysts for entrepreneurship. Therefore, longterm unemployment, which provides time and may also focus the energy of the unemployed person, will tend to stimulate the cognition that entrepreneurship is feasible.…”

Making a humanities town: knowledge-infused clusters, civic entrepreneurship and civil society in local innovation systems

“…Undertaken by a community to enhance its quality of life, such mobilizations of voluntary activity may increase economic capital and produce a new civic identity. It has been noted that some firms succeed in the face of limited resources making do with whatever resources are at hand (Baker and Nelson, 2005). A charismatic individual with a novel idea may go a step further and inspire moments of entrepreneurial bricolage, creating new resources to accomplish a project.…”

Réplica - Empreendedores: Reflexões sobre Concepções Históricas e Contemporâneas

“…O conhecimento, a criatividade e a habilidade relacional e, não necessariamente o acúmulo de recursos físicos, distinguem os empreendedores. Para abordagens contemporâneas, também, a penúria ou escassez de recursos, pode resultar em criação de valor ou em crescimento, como no caso da bricolagem (Backer & Nelson, 2005;Fisher, 2012). Isso pode ser observado na figura dos empreendedores sociais que se ampliam na contemporaneidade (Smith & Woodworth, 2012).…”