The dark side of information systems: Technostress as a cognitive barrier to bricolage and the buffering role of paradox mindset

Purpose This study aims to investigate the mechanism through which technostress impacts the entrepreneurial bricolage of startup founders in the digital economy. Specifically, it examines the mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness and the moderating role of paradox mindset in converting technological pressures into innovative behaviors, grounded in the integration of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and paradox theory. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 746 founders, co-founders and key personnel of digital startups in Vietnam via an online survey. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4, employing bootstrapping to assess the significance of direct, indirect and moderating effects. Findings The results reveal that technostress negatively affects both entrepreneurial alertness and bricolage. Entrepreneurial alertness serves as a critical mediator, explaining how technostress stifles innovative behavior by depleting cognitive resources. Notably, a paradox mindset acts as a strategic buffer: it not only attenuates the negative impact of technostress on alertness but also dampens and stabilizes the negative relationship between technostress and bricolage, allowing founders to sustain resourcefulness under pressure rather than reversing its effect outright. Originality/value This is among the first studies to explore the black box connecting technostress to bricolage in the entrepreneurial context. It offers novel insights by demonstrating how a specific cognitive frame (paradox mindset) can transform the destructive nature of technostress into constructive, innovative actions.