Research on resource acquisition tends to focus on resource-constrained environments. However, recent research argues that small technology-based firms may be surrounded by a high level of aggregated resources, suggesting resource-rich environments. Based on a sample of small technology-based firms participating in various accelerator Programs, this study inductively explores small firms’ resource acquisition decisions in such environments. I find various reference points that resource seekers activate when interpreting the value of resources in an aggregate and identify three dimensions of a holistic perception that grounds a firm’s acquisition decision in a resource-rich environment. Based on these findings, I construct a conceptual model that elucidates how resource seekers concretise, abstract, and deliberate on resource aggregates and how these mechanisms may be repeated over time. The study unpacks the complexity underlying resource acquisition in resource-rich environments and demonstrates that a resource strategy can emerge as a series of individual acquisition decisions.
