New Product Creativity Mediating the Relationship Between Organizational Bricolage and the Competitive Advantage of SMEs
Hongyun Tian, Samuel Kofi Otchere, Courage Simon Kofi Dogbe, Winfred Okoe Addy, Frank Hammond
Keywords:
bricolage, creativity, new product development, competitive advantage, SMEs
Abstract:
It is well-documented in literature that one major challenge facing Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises (SMEs) is resource constraints. This affects SMEs’ potential for innovation, as
innovation is resource-intensive. To survive the competition, it is expedient that SMEs find
more creative and innovative ways to operate. This present study sought to ascertain how SMEs
could adopt a bricolage strategy to achieve a competitive advantage. The study also sought to
determine the mediating role of new product creativity in this relationship, which formed a key
contribution. Data was gathered from 334 SMEs using a simple random sampling technique.
The data was analyzed using the covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM)
approach in Amos (v.23). Various validity and reliability tests were run before testing the
significance of the various hypotheses of the study. It was concluded that bricolage had a direct
positive effect on SMEs’ competitive advantage. Bricolage further had a direct positive impact
on new product creativity, whiles new product creativity had a direct positive effect on SMEs’
competitive advantage. It was also realized that creativity had a partial mediating effect on the
relationship between bricolage and SMEs’ competitive advantage. Although this study did not
directly assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations, the data for
the study was gathered during the pandemic period, as such, the results of this present study
could offer some practical clues on how firms could achieve competitive advantage during the
outbreak of pandemics.
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 New Product Creativity Mediating the Relationship Between Organizational Bricolage and the Competitive Advantage of SMEs [PDF file] [Filesize: 1.31 MB]
 10.7441/joc.2021.04.09
Tian, H., Otchere, S. K, Dogbe, C. S. K., Addy, W. O., & Hammond, F. (2021). New Product Creativity
Mediating the Relationship Between Organizational Bricolage and the Competitive Advantage of
SMEs. Journal of Competitiveness, 13(4), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2021.04.09
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