Uncovering the hidden value of scarce resources: frugality, resourcefulness and innovative behavior among student entrepreneurs

Abstract

student entrepreneurs are key actors in innovation ecosystems, yet little is knownabout how they innovate under resource constraints. drawing on the social cognitivetheory of self-regulation, this study explores the ways in which frugality influencesinnovative behavior through entrepreneurial bricolage, financial bootstrapping, andimprovisation. using pls-sEM and necessary condition analysis with data from 151student entrepreneurs in higher education in spain, the results show that frugalityimpacts innovative behavior only through the full mediation of entrepreneurialbricolage. Financial bootstrapping and improvisation also emerge as necessaryconditions complementing this core relationship. this study contributes to thescholarship by: (1) providing a nuanced framework of entrepreneurial resourcefulnessthat reveals how cognitive traits are translated into innovative outcomes throughspecific behavioral mechanisms; (2) demonstrating how resourceful behaviors functionsimultaneously as both pathways and prerequisites at different achievement levels; and(3) introducing a graduated model of necessity that identifies the point at whichspecific capabilities become necessary for innovative behavior at different performancelevels. these findings offer insights into the ways in which student entrepreneurs candevelop both cognitive and behavioral resourceful mechanisms, and highlight theimportance of building such mechanisms to support their innovative behavior.