Research · open agenda

Creating strategic possibility under constraint.

My research asks how entrepreneurs and family firms act when conventional resources, supportive institutions and established pathways are limited. The focus is not only what resources people possess, but how cognition, materials, relationships and collective effort are mobilised into action.

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Connected branches: 04
Doctoral foundation: Submitted · 2024
Status: Collaboration welcome

Worth asking

What does “resourcefulness” explain that “resources” alone cannot?

When a study calls a founder “resourceful,” is that a description of what happened, or a label standing in for an explanation?
Which of these claims rest on the submitted 2024 thesis, and which are still open questions?
If a branch's central mechanism were wrong, what would we expect to see instead?

01 / Unifying logic

Resourcefulness is action, not inventory.

The programme follows a shared mechanism: constraint shapes the action field; people mobilise cognitive, material and relational resources; those actions may build new capabilities and strategic possibilities. Each branch tests a different part of that sequence.

Constraint
01
Resources and institutions are incomplete
- Material scarcity
- Institutional voids
- Uneven support
→
Mobilisation
02
People work with what is actually available
- Cognitive strengths
- Bricolage
- Family coordination
→
Strategic possibility
03
Action can widen the future choice set
- Entrepreneurial agency
- Effectuation
- Frugal innovation

02 / Research branches

Four ways into one larger question.

These pages are an open research map—not a repository of unpublished papers. Each branch separates what the thesis contributes from what still needs to be tested.

Doctoral foundation · XLRI Jamshedpur

Entrepreneurial Resourcefulness in Resource-Constrained Environments

The thesis brings together three connected perspectives: neurodiverse entrepreneurial agency, the movement from bricolage to effectuation, and family-business resourcefulness in institutional voids. It provides the foundation for a broader agenda on inclusive entrepreneurship, family-enterprise innovation, frugal problem-solving and dynamic capabilities.

Status: Submitted doctoral thesis toward the Fellow in Management (FPM)
Institution: Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur
Manuscript: August 2024
Submitted: 30 October 2024

Request the thesis

The full thesis is available by request. Unpublished essay manuscripts are not hosted on this website.

Thesis committee

Guidance behind the work

Prof. Fr. Kuruvilla Pandikattu, S.J.
Thesis Committee Chairperson
Prof. Munish Thakur
Thesis Committee Advisor
Prof. Rahul Shukla
Thesis Committee Advisor

Acknowledgement

This doctoral work was shaped by the guidance of my thesis committee and by the generosity of faculty colleagues, the FPM and eFPM community, family-business leaders who shared their experiences, and my family and friends. Their questions, criticism, trust and encouragement made the work possible.

Foundational questions

01
How do neurodiverse traits translate into entrepreneurial agency and resourcefulness under scarcity?
02
How might family firms move from bricolage toward effectuation as legitimacy and access improve?
03
How does family-business resourcefulness operate in institutional voids, and how might it become frugal innovation through dynamic capabilities?

Suggested thesis citation

Sahoo, S. (2024). Entrepreneurial Resourcefulness in Resource-Constrained Environments. Submitted doctoral thesis, Fellow in Management, Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur.

For prospective doctoral researchers

Supervision starts before the dissertation.

I supervise doctoral and pre-doctoral work in strategy, entrepreneurship and organisation theory. I take on only a few researchers in each cycle because close reading, candid feedback and regular conversation take time.

Guide

PhD Mandatory Coursework

What each mandatory component is actually for, a before-term-one checklist, and how coursework connects to how I supervise.

Read the guide

Guide

How to Read a Research Paper

The three-pass method, a reading order that isn't the printed order, and the habit that turns scattered reading into an actual literature review.

Read the guide

Build the next study together

A useful collaboration starts with a precise question.

I welcome collaboration with researchers, founders, family enterprises, incubators and institutions interested in testing and extending this agenda through longitudinal, comparative, multi-source and cross-country work.

Propose a collaboration Book a conversation

Source note: the summaries on these pages are grounded in the submitted 2024 doctoral thesis. They distinguish thesis evidence, conceptual propositions and future questions; no unpublished paper files are distributed here.

Creating strategic possibility under constraint.

What does “resourcefulness” explain that “resources” alone cannot?

Resourcefulness is action, not inventory.

Resources and institutions are incomplete

People work with what is actually available

Action can widen the future choice set

Four ways into one larger question.

Neurodiversity & Entrepreneurial Agency

From Bricolage to Effectuation

Family Business Resourcefulness

Frugal Innovation & Dynamic Capabilities