Name: Shilpa Chaudhary , Harpreet Singh Bedi
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-11, Issue-1, January-June 2026
Page Number: 776 - 798
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21338105

ABSTRACT
The paper proposes and empirically tests a model explaining the influence of social capital components on entrepreneurial bricolage mediated by opportunity recognition in resource-constrained MSMEs of Punjab, India. Social capital is a multidimensional concept consisting of structural, relational and cognitive capital, all of which are related to opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial bricolage, based on the theories of Social Capital Theory, Opportunity Recognition Theory and Bricolage Theory. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 320 MSME owners and managers using validated measures of social capital, opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial bricolage. Data were analysed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM).The findings indicate that all three forms of social capital exert a considerable and favorable influence on opportunity. recognition, and that relational capital is the strongest predictor. Recognizing opportunities helps boost entrepreneurial bricolage. Structural and relational capital have strong direct effects on entrepreneurial bricolage while the direct effect of cognitive capital on bricolage is not significant. The mediation analysis shows that opportunity recognition partially mediates the relationships between structural and relational capital and entrepreneurial bricolage, and fully mediates the effect of cognitive capital on bricolage. This research adds to Social Capital Theory by demonstrating different pathways from structural, relational and cognitive capital to entrepreneurial resourcefulness, and to Opportunity Recognition and Bricolage Theory by demonstrating opportunity recognition as a prominent cognitive process that enables the conversion of social capital into innovative resource recombination. The study highlights the need for MSME entrepreneurs and support institutions to develop diversified trust networks and improve their opportunity detection capabilities in order to foster innovative bricolage responses to resource constraints.

Keywords: social capital; structural capital; relational capital; cognitive capital; opportunity recognition; entrepreneurial bricolage; MSMEs; resource constraints