Navigating the student entrepreneurial journey: Dynamics and interplay of resourceful and innovative behavior

Abstract

One characteristic of nascent entrepreneurship is the need to innovate to achieve competitiveness and ensure the survival of new ventures. Based on the individual perspectives of the Resource-Based View and Entrepreneurial Learning Theory, we propose a novel approach to expand our understanding of the dynamics and interplay between resourceful behaviors (e.g. financial bootstrapping, bricolage, and improvisation) and innovative behavior among student entrepreneurs during the development and exploitation stages. We used data from a survey of two groups of student entrepreneurs in Spain, analyzed using advanced PLS-SEM procedures. Our findings indicate that the link between financial bootstrapping and innovative behavior is driven by bricolage at both stages, while improvisation does not moderate this relationship. Changes in innovative behavior and the impact of resourceful behaviors are not significant in the stages analyzed. These results have implications for enhancing the identification, integration, and use of resources for innovation amongst student entrepreneurs.