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

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 ‘problem-first’ 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.