The cost of “everything”: minoritized social entrepreneurs’ response and adaptation during the cost-of-living crisis

Purpose The cost-of-living crisis negatively impacted many parts of the United Kingdom, exposing the heightened economic failures faced by impoverished people whom social enterprises (SEs) support. Yet, the resilience of SEs, especially those led by minoritized individuals hardest hit by the crisis, is underexplored. This paper examines the response and adaptation of Black- and Asian-led SEs during the cost-of-living crisis. It draws from Duchek’s (2020) organizational resilience conceptualization to offer valuable insights into crisis response strategies and their implications. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design is adopted for semi-structured interviews with SE founders and directors. The interview data were analyzed using abductive analysis. Findings Proactive, reactive and defensive strategies are the primary response approaches. Most proactive organizations are Asian-led, while reactive organizations are predominantly Black-led. There is an equal organization for the defensive strategy; however, various capabilities were used for each response approach. The response approaches and capabilities are determined after an introspection of the business models and performance. Thus, SE resilience combines capabilities specific to each crisis response approach. Practical implications Black- and Asian-led SEs showed no significant differences in their responses to the cost-of-living crisis. However, adopters of reactive and defensive strategies must establish a learning process to enhance preparedness for future crises and foster resilient systems. Originality/value The research constructs an SE response typology framework to expound on the behaviors of three organizational response categories: cost-driven innovators, market expansion defenders and innovation pioneers.