Abstract:Slack resources have an important influence on firm’s temporary competitive advantages, however, there are conflicting perspectives on whether slack resources will or will not increase temporary competitive advantages. In addition, scholars know little about ‘how could slack resources translate into firm’s transient competitive advantages’ and ‘what kind of condition will help to do it’. To address these gaps, this paper integrates the behavioral theory of the firm and resource constraints literature to explore a U-shaped relationship between slack resources and temporary competitive advantages as well as its mediating mechanism and moderating conditions. Empirical research on the 279 validated questionnaires from software firms indicates: ⑴slack resources has a U-shaped relationship with temporary competitive advantages; ⑵slack resources indirectly influences temporary competitive advantages through entrepreneurial bricolage with the U-shaped path from slack resources to entrepreneurial bricolage; ⑶both environment uncertainty and resources flexibility strengthen the U-shaped relationship between slack resources and entrepreneurial bricolage; ⑷environment uncertainty and resources flexibility jointly strengthen the mediating role of entrepreneurial bricolage in the relationship between slack resources and temporary competitive advantages. The results suggest that slack resources are important sources of firm’s transient competitive advantages within the broad context of hyper-competitive conditions, while firms should be cautious about ‘middle slack resources trap’; moreover, entrepreneurial bricolage is an important mediator between slack resources and temporary competitive advantages, particularly when the levels of environment uncertainty and resources flexibility are high. The research conclusions have excellent practical implications for firms with slack resources, especially those with excess capacity.