Narrative on How Engineering Leaders Perceive, Learn, and Re-interpret under Resource Constraints - A Case Study of a Rubber Fender Manufacturer in Taiwan
Wei-Shang Fan, Kuo-Chung Huang, Ping-Yu Chiang

Abstract
Business managers attach great importance to innovation and entrepreneurship, as they are essential to modern organizational, economic, and social development. From specific perspectives, it is challenging to describe details of and gain insights into the process of innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper attempts to observe from an entrepreneurial perspective. It targets a resource-constrained traditional SMB dedicated to producing rubber products in Taiwan. With data collected and organized by narrative inquiry, it analyzes and interprets the narrated history covering a series of innovation actions in three stories, including acquiring the absorptive capacity of knowledge, bricolage, and value-creation. The research reveals insights and implications in the whole history: (1) Self-awareness triggered by difficulties and constraints is the key to initiate knowledge innovation actions; (2) Unique action and learning experiences provide the basis for putting bricolage into practice; and (3) Re-interpretation in multiple contexts helps in value-creation by reforming processes.

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