A Research on the Bricolage Process of Spin-out Entrepreneurship: A Multi-case Study Based on Software Start-ups

As a common form of entrepreneurship in industrial clusters, spin-out entrepreneurship plays an important role in promoting the number of enterprises in the cluster and the formation of knowledge network. Spin-out entrepreneurs master and have unique views on certain resources on hand when they work in parent enterprises. They can break through resource constraints by bricolage. However, the existing researches have not paid enough attention to the bricolage problem in spin-out entrepreneurship. Therefore, the vertical analysis and cross-case comparative study on the entrepreneurial bricolage process of five different spin-out start-ups are carried out by using the grounded analysis method, and the theoretical model of spin-out entrepreneurial bricolage process is obtained.The research conclusions are as follows: （1） The bricolage process of spin-out entrepreneurship can be described. Firstly, direct resources and network resources can be collected through two different logical paths of “untended willow grows” and “save against a rainy day”. Secondly, under the stimulation of external incentives at different entrepreneurial stages, entrepreneurs allocate resources according to the three behavioral orientations （first action orientation, imitation orientation, strategy orientation）. Thirdly, different processing methods such as resource utilization, resource integration and resource innovation are formed, which eventually lead to different performance results. （2） In the learning period, entrepreneurs choose the first action orientation to make use of human resources and other basic resources; in the creation period, entrepreneurs choose the first action orientation and imitation orientation, and then integrate and innovate the resources, so as to solve the problem of short-term entrepreneurial resource limitation and quickly adapt to the development; in the development period, entrepreneurs choose the strategic orientation to integrate and innovate the resources from a long-term perspective. （3） The bricolage process of clonal competition spin-out has poor performance, that is, excessive use of parent resources is not conducive to the growth of start-ups. Based on the above findings, we can get the following enlightenment: （1） Testing resources boldly is the key to start bricolage. （2） Entrepreneurs can examine their internal and external resources in an all-round and multi-dimensional way, and then readjust the resource structure, so as to expand the “knowledge set, cognitive set”, and prepare for resource bricolage. （3） Entrepreneurs should re-check the resources according to the purpose to improve the efficiency.The future development directions include: （1） Entrepreneurial bricolage emphasizes the subjective construction of entrepreneurs, so the research on cognitive theory can provide a deeper insight into the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and traditional strategies. （2） As a prominent feature of spin-out entrepreneurship, parent network relationship embeddedness can be used to analyze the bricolage effect in the future.The main contributions of this study are as follows: This study constructs a theoretical model of spin-out entrepreneurship bricolage process, puts forward the source and composition of resources, as well as three kinds of behavior orientations. It describes the specific behavior and results of spin-out entrepreneurship bricolage in different stages, reveals the process mechanism of spin-out entrepreneurship bricolage, which is helpful to uncover the black box of spin-out entrepreneurship.