From catch-up to creation: technological leapfrogging for business model innovation in SMEs

Purpose This research aims to explore how resource-constrained small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) leverage technological leapfrogging as a means of innovating their business models. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple-case study approach focused on SMEs' consistency in emerging knowledge hubs in China. This method offers in-depth insight into the nuanced decision-making, managerial perceptions of and how these companies developed their processes for constraint-facilitated leapfrogging. Purposeful sampling ensured that the chosen SMEs clearly displayed evidence of leapfrogging mainstream technology generations. Findings The research identified three phases of leapfrogging constraint-driven recognition, where an obstacle to the business's existence prompts an action; strategic bricolage, which involves the creative assembly and leveraging of resources, and value logic transformation, representing a primary shift in business model innovation. Research limitations/implications This study contributes a new micro-process theory of leapfrogging to the literature. For practitioners, it offers insights into how resource constraints can be transformed into strategic opportunities. Originality/value This research advances the field by establishing a micro-process theory that reconceptualizes resource constraints as strategic catalysts for technological leapfrogging rather than barriers to growth. By delineating the iterative transition from constraint-driven recognition to value logic transformation, the study provides a theoretical framework for understanding how SMEs in emerging markets navigate radical business model innovation through strategic bricolage.