Surviving in Turbulent Times: The Role of Bricolage in Building Social Enterprise Resilience

Social enterprises are known for their ability to mobilise and utilise resources creatively and effectively to fulfil their social objectives, particularly in resource-constrained environments. In this study, we investigate the bricolage strategies employed by social enterprises to navigate external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and examine their micro-processes in fostering organisational resilience during turbulent times. Through qualitative interviews with 22 social enterprises in Hong Kong, we uncover four bricolage strategies of SEs, strategic resource, flex-adapt, collaborative ecosystem and socio-responsive bricolage, to navigate pandemic disruptions and build resilience. Then, we develop a typology of resilience pathways that captures various states of equilibrium achieved by social enterprises, each representing a unique leverage of different bricolage strategies to manage the tensions between their social and financial objectives.