Resource-constrained small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face increasing pressure to improve sustainable performance while operating with limited financial slack, uneven digital infrastructure, and constrained managerial capacity. Although artificial intelligence (AI) capability can improve decision quality, process efficiency, resource visibility, and sustainability-oriented action, its value does not automatically translate into economic, environmental, and social performance. The organisational mechanism through which resource-constrained SMEs convert AI capability into sustainable firm performance remains underexplained. Focusing on resource-constrained SMEs, this Conceptual Paper develops a resource bricolage capability framework to address this gap. Drawing on the Resource-Based View, Composition-Based View, Bricolage Theory, Resource Orchestration Theory, and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) perspective, the paper argues that AI capability contributes to sustainable performance when SMEs use AI-enabled insights to identify, recombine, and redeploy resources already at hand. Resource bricolage capability is positioned as the organisational bridge between AI-enabled resource visibility and the actions that produce cost savings, waste reduction, operational adaptation, employee involvement, and stakeholder value. The framework advances three propositions and offers guidance for SME managers and policymakers seeking to convert AI capability into sustainable value under resource constraints.
Adam, N. A., & Alarifi, G. (2021). Innovation practices for survival of small and medium enterprises in the COVID-19 times: The role of external support. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 10, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00156-6
Ahmad, B., Shafique, I., & Kalyar, M. N. (2025). AI capabilities driven sustainability: The effect of AI-oriented leadership and frugal innovation on firm sustainable performance. International Journal of Innovation, 13(2), Article e27943. https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.27943
Alwakid, W. N., & Dahri, N. A. (2025). Harnessing AI capabilities and green entrepreneurial orientation for sustainable SME performance using SEM analysis approach. Technology in Society, 83, Article 103007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103007
Baabdullah, A. M., Alalwan, A. A., Slade, E. L., Raman, R., & Khatatneh, K. F. (2021). SMEs and artificial intelligence (AI): Antecedents and consequences of AI-based B2B practices. Industrial Marketing Management, 98, 255–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2021.09.003
Badghish, S., & Soomro, Y. A. (2024). Artificial intelligence adoption by SMEs to achieve sustainable business performance: Application of technology–organization–environment framework. Sustainability, 16(5), Article 1864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051864
Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329–366. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.329
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Burton, R. M. (2015). Extraordinary survival from ordinary resources: How so? Management and Organization Review, 11(3), 413–417. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2015.28
Carter, C. R., & Rogers, D. S. (2008). A framework of sustainable supply chain management: Moving toward new theory. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(5), 360–387. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030810882816
Davenport, T. H., & Ronanki, R. (2018). Artificial intelligence for the real world. Harvard Business Review, 96(1), 108–116.
Davidsson, P., Baker, T., & Senyard, J. M. (2017). A measure of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(1), 114–135. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2015-0256
Desa, G., & Basu, S. (2013). Optimization or bricolage? Overcoming resource constraints in global social entrepreneurship. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 7(1), 26–49. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1150
Di Domenico, M., Haugh, H., & Tracey, P. (2010). Social bricolage: Theorizing social value creation in social enterprises. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(4), 681–703. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00370.x
Donate, M. J., & de Pablo, J. D. S. (2015). The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), 360–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.06.022
Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Ismagilova, E., Aarts, G., Coombs, C., Crick, T., Duan, Y., Dwivedi, R., Edwards, J., Eirug, A., Galanos, V., Ilavarasan, P. V., Janssen, M., Jones, P., Kar, A. K., Kizgin, H., Kronemann, B., Lal, B., Lucini, B., ... Williams, M. D. (2021). Artificial intelligence (AI): Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 57, Article 101994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.08.002
Dyllick, T., & Hockerts, K. (2002). Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 11(2), 130–141. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.323
Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone.
Fisher, G. (2012). Effectuation, causation, and bricolage: A behavioral comparison of emerging theories in entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(5), 1019–1051. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00537.x
Fiss, P. C. (2011). Building better causal theories: A fuzzy set approach to typologies in organization research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263120
Fosso Wamba, S., Queiroz, M. M., Pappas, I. O., & Sullivan, Y. (2024). Artificial intelligence capability and firm performance: A sustainable development perspective by the mediating role of data-driven culture. Information Systems Frontiers, 26(6), 2189–2203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-023-10460-z
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The circular economy: A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
George, G., Howard-Grenville, J., Joshi, A., & Tihanyi, L. (2016). Understanding and tackling societal grand challenges through management research. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 1880–1895. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.4007
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage.
Halme, M., Lindeman, S., & Linna, P. (2012). Innovation for inclusive business: Intrapreneurial bricolage in multinational corporations. Journal of Management Studies, 49(4), 743–784. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01045.x
Hart, S. L., & Dowell, G. (2011). A natural-resource-based view of the firm: Fifteen years after. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1464–1479. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310390219
Klewitz, J., & Hansen, E. G. (2014). Sustainability-oriented innovation of SMEs: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 57–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.07.017
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1966). The savage mind. University of Chicago Press.
Luo, Y., & Child, J. (2015). A composition-based view of firm growth. Management and Organization Review, 11(3), 379–411. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2015.29
Mair, J., & Martí, I. (2006). Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight. Journal of World Business, 41(1), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2005.09.002
Mikalef, P., & Gupta, M. (2021). Artificial intelligence capability: Conceptualization, measurement calibration, and empirical study on its impact on organizational creativity and firm performance. Information & Management, 58(3), Article 103434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103434
Nishant, R., Kennedy, M., & Corbett, J. (2020). Artificial intelligence for sustainability: Challenges, opportunities, and a research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 53, Article 102104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102104
Olan, F., Arakpogun, E. O., Suklan, J., Nakpodia, F., Damij, N., & Jayawickrama, U. (2022). Artificial intelligence and knowledge sharing: Contributing factors to organizational performance. Journal of Business Research, 145, 605–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.008
Peretz-Andersson, E., Tabares, S., Mikalef, P., & Parida, V. (2024). Artificial intelligence implementation in manufacturing SMEs: A resource orchestration approach. International Journal of Information Management, 77, Article 102781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2024.102781
Ragin, C. C. (2008). Redesigning social inquiry: Fuzzy sets and beyond. University of Chicago Press.
Ragmoun, W., & Aloulou, W. J. (2026). Artificial intelligence capabilities, sustainable innovation and SMEs' resilience: A serial-parallel mediation model of dynamic and digital platform capabilities. Sustainability, 18(9), Article 4320. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094320
Raisch, S., & Krakowski, S. (2021). Artificial intelligence and management: The automation–augmentation paradox. Academy of Management Review, 46(1), 192–210. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0072
Salunke, S., Weerawardena, J., & McColl-Kennedy, J. R. (2013). Competing through service innovation: The role of bricolage and entrepreneurship in project-oriented firms. Journal of Business Research, 66(8), 1085–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.03.005
Senyard, J., Baker, T., Steffens, P., & Davidsson, P. (2014). Bricolage as a path to innovativeness for resource-constrained new firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(2), 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12091
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2007). Managing firm resources in dynamic environments to create value: Looking inside the black box. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23466005
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Gilbert, B. A. (2011). Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage: Breadth, depth, and life cycle effects. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1390–1412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385695
Soomro, R. B., Al-Rahmi, W. M., Dahri, N. A., Almuqren, L., Al-mogren, A. S., & Aldaijy, A. (2025). A SEM–ANN analysis to examine impact of artificial intelligence technologies on sustainable performance of SMEs. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 5438. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86464-3
Stenholm, P., & Renko, M. (2016). Passionate bricoleurs and new venture survival. Journal of Business Venturing, 31(5), 595–611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.05.004
Sun, J., Maksimov, V., Wang, S. L., & Luo, Y. (2021). Developing compositional capability in emerging-market SMEs. Journal of World Business, 56(3), Article 101148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101148
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640
Wennekers, S., & Thurik, R. (1999). Linking entrepreneurship and economic growth. Small Business Economics, 13(1), 27–55. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008063200484
Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: A configurational approach. Journal of Business Venturing, 20(1), 71–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2004.01.001
Yan, X., Chen, Y.-S., & Lin, Y. (2025). Unpacking the mechanisms and consequences of artificial intelligence in enabling green value co-creation for SMEs. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 42336. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-26420-3
Zhang, Y., & Ramayah, T. (2026). From AI Capability to Sustainable Performance in Resource-Constrained SMEs: The Mediating Role of Resource Bricolage Capability. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(6), 1021–1040.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
