Abstract:
Social entrepreneurs are primarily focused on the development of innovative solutions to
society’s most challenging problems. The behavioral theory of “entrepreneurial resource
bricolage” attempts to understand the art of combining extant resources to overcome
novel challenges and constraints. This study aimed at investigating how entrepreneurial
resource bricolage is used as a method of social innovation in a resource-constrained
context. The study further investigated whether entrepreneurial resource bricolage
influences nurturing social innovations while observing the moderating effect of
entrepreneurial alertness. Taking a qualitative research approach, the study surveyed 264
social entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistics, Pearson coefficient correlation,
and regression analysis were used to analyze data. The findings manifest that
entrepreneurial resource bricolage significantly influences on nurturing social innovations
whereas entrepreneurial alertness positively influenced the relationship between
entrepreneurial resource bricolage and social innovations. Thus, by doing so, this research
provides empirical evidence on how entrepreneurial resource bricolage triggers social
innovations. The study provides social entrepreneurs with precious implications to
enhance the values and innovations and contributes significantly to the emerging
discussion on social innovation and entrepreneurship in the context of the developing
country.
Keywords: Behavioral theory, Social entrepreneurs, Social innovations, Entrepreneurial
alertness, Entrepreneurial resource bricolage
