Resource mobilization through bricolage for sustainable outcomes in a non-profit organization

Abstract

How non-profit organizations (NPOs) use bricolage is critical yet overlooked in management literature. This study explores how NPOs mobilize resources through bricolage to achieve sustainable outcomes. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a French food bank, we show how relational embeddedness and adaptive resourcefulness serve as core bricolage dimensions for sustainable outcomes. Relational embeddedness involves utilizing networks, aligning heterogeneous stakeholders, engaging with the government, and fostering reciprocal support and community belonging, while adaptive resourcefulness entails repurposing non-standard resources, combining diverse inputs, and improvising to address volatility. Through these activities, the food bank transformed persistent financial, human, and operational constraints into opportunities for serving vulnerable populations, empowering individuals through skill development, and protecting the environment, while maintaining financial health. This research advances understanding of how NPOs leverage bricolage as a dynamic capability and contributes to non-profit and sustainability literature by highlighting pathways to achieve broad social impact.

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ORCID for Yang Liu: orcid.org/0000-0002-9540-9719

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