The mechanism influencing resource bricolage driving low-cost breakthrough innovations remains unclear. By introducing exaptation and organizational agility, this study creates a regulated mediation model, explores effects of resource bricolage on low-cost breakthrough innovations, and analyzes the moderating effect of organizational agility and mediation effect of exaptation. The results revealed that resource bricolage exerted a significant positive impact on low-cost breakthrough innovations, and exaptation played a mediation role between resource bricolage and low-cost breakthrough innovations. In addition, both marketing agility and operational agility positively regulated the correlation between resource bricolage and exaptation. Further research revealed that the mediation effect of exaptation was positively regulated by marketing agility and operational agility, respectively. Overall, this study enriches the discussion of the impact mechanism of breakthrough innovations by resource bricolage and provides valuable enlightenment for enterprises to implement innovation-driven development strategies in the context of economic transformation.

With the advent of emerging markets, the need for low-cost innovation to meet the rising demands of people at the base of the pyramid has increased significantly. Although the critical influence of customer participation on new product development has been recognized, there have been few studies on the effects of customer participation on low-cost innovation. This study builds a moderated mediation model and explores the roles of customer participation on low-cost innovation. Based on the exaptation and strategic flexibility theories, the mediating role of exaptation and the moderating role of strategic flexibility are emphasized. A survey of 348 firms revealed that customer participation positively impacted both exaptation and low-cost innovation. In addition, exaptation mediated the correlation between customer participation and low-cost innovation. Resource flexibility negatively moderated the correlation between customer participation and exaptation and negatively moderated the mediating effect of exaptation. Furthermore, coordinate flexibility positively moderated the correlation between customer participation and exaptation and positively moderated the mediating effect of exaptation.