From perfume to spirits: Exaptation of a bundle of local resources by an outsider entrepreneur

Pierpaolo Andriani (), Gino Cattani, Rani Dang () and Renata Kaminska ()
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Pierpaolo Andriani: Kedge BS - Kedge Business School
Gino Cattani: NYU - New York University [New York] - NYU - NYU System
Rani Dang: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, UCA EUR ELMI - Université Côte d'Azur - École universitaire de recherche ELMI - Économie et management - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Renata Kaminska: SKEMA Business School - SKEMA Business School, GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur

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Abstract: Exaptation is fundamental to understanding the emergence of novelty in economic systems. Existing research has primarily focused on 'product-first/new market' exaptation of a single resource, largely overlooking 'problemfirst' contexts, particularly where exaptation involves a bundle of resources. Through an exploratory qualitative case study of Comte de Grasse, a distillery start-up founded by an outsider entrepreneur in the perfume cluster of Grasse, South of France, this paper explores the intricate interplay between entrepreneurial decisions and actions that lead to the exaptation of a bundle of resources, resulting in the creation of a new business within an existing regional cluster. Our findings highlight analogical search as a key mechanism that enables entrepreneurs to address identified market needs by repurposing local resources rather than developing new ones. The insights from our research enrich the prevailing theory on exaptation by further highlighting its agentic nature and demonstrating that it can involve more than a single resource.

Keywords: Exaptation; Entrepreneurship; Outsider; Innovation; Analogical; search; Regional; cluster; Perfume; Spirits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-01
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04802045v1
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Published in Research Policy, 2025, 54, ⟨10.1016/j.respol.2024.105137⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04802045

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105137

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