Bricolage as a microfoundation of knowledge recombination: enabling servitization in resource-constrained environments

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine how firms advance servitization through bricolage as a practice-based mechanism for integrating dispersed experiential and tacit knowledge, and how such recombination supports capability development under resource constraints. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, combining a multiple case study with a survey of manufacturing firms in Vietnam and Malaysia to identify and test multilevel bricolage-based knowledge recombination processes. Findings Qualitative findings show that bricolage evolves from situated problem-solving into a coordinated organizational capability that supports servitization. Quantitative findings show that bricolage capability mediates the relationship between servitization and sustained competitive advantage, while environmental turbulence moderates the servitization–bricolage link and exploratory learning has a U-shaped relationship with servitization. Originality/value This study extends the knowledge-based view by theorizing bricolage capability as a firm-level organizational capability through which knowledge integration emerges when formal structures are weak or incomplete, enabling servitization under resource constraints.