Agility and improvisation in Ontario’s craft breweries: Capabilities for constraints-based innovation

ABSTRACTIn the context of most small businesses, innovativeness is critical for survival. However, small businesses often lack resources and are limited in their ability to influence external constraints. Consequently, they need to innovate in unique and often limited ways. While constraints-based innovativeness is discussed in emerging economies, we know little about how it occurs in advanced economies like Canada. This study uses a case study method in the craft brewery industry to examine different paths to constraints-based innovativeness through two capabilities, namely organizational agility and organizational improvisation capability. Results indicate an important but limited role for these capabilities for constraints-based innovativeness in the context of craft brewing, but also uncover different paths for development and evolution of innovativeness. This opens future research opportunities to study innovativeness, agility and organizational improvisation capability in small businesses facing resource constraints.