The Effect of Resource Constraints and Bricolage on Dynamic Capabilities and New Venture Performance

This study examines the joint effect of resource constraints and entrepreneurial bricolage on the formation of dynamic capabilities and new venture performance. Drawing on the microfoundations perspective, our model examines the interactive effect of resource constraints and bricolage behaviors on dynamic capabilities during the early development of new ventures, and, in turn, the performance-enhancing effects of dynamic capabilities. Results from a sample of 156 United States-based startups indicate that dynamic capabilities and new venture performance are at their highest when highly resource-constrained new ventures engage in high levels of entrepreneurial bricolage. These findings highlight an important early pathway through which startups may begin to form firm-level dynamic capabilities and achieve enhanced performance, even while lacking the stocks of experience and resources usually associated with dynamic capabilities in established firms.