Necessity is the mother of invention: performance pressures, bricolage and control systems in startups

Abstract

We examine the unexplored relationships among performance pressures, bricolage, and innovation control systems in startups. Bricolage is a key strategy employed by entrepreneurs to create resources for their startups when they are faced with contextual challenges that lead to resource constraints. Bricolage involves using ‘whatever is at hand’ to create something new, combining available resources to address problems and seize opportunities. Given the necessity arising from the performance pressures exerted by several stakeholders on startups, we propose that bricolage is a means of addressing this challenge. In the context of pressures, scarce resources, and the search for opportunities, we contend that innovation control systems also play a significant role. The reason is that the various types of information content that they provide, whether financial (e.g. costs or forecasts) or non-financial (e.g. product market portfolios, roadmaps, or milestones), influence decision-making in an environment of pressure to innovate. In a sample of 335 startups, we identified higher levels of bricolage among those facing performance pressures. Furthermore, our findings reveal that non-financial (financial) innovation control systems positively (negatively) moderate the effect of performance pressures on bricolage.