Strength in connections: social media capital and resilience in US arts and cultural organizations

Purpose This study examines the relationship between social media capital (SMC) and the resilience capacities of nonprofits and social enterprises. We investigate whether SMC translates into the comprehensive capacities that enable organizations to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and transform in response to environmental disruptions and operational challenges. Design/methodology/approach Using panel data from 5,215 US arts and cultural nonprofit organizations from 2015 to 2023, we combine IRS Form 990 data and DataArts social media metrics from eight different platforms to construct composite and platform-specific social media capital measures. We operationalize resilience capacities through nine dependent variables capturing three core domains: mission and adaptive capacity, financial and buffering capacity, and relational and contextual capacity. Panel regression models with organization and year fixed effects, supplemented by entropy balancing, instrumental variables, and difference-in-differences analyses address potential endogeneity concerns and assess realized resilience. Findings Higher SMC levels are associated with stronger resilience across all three domains. Organizations with greater SMC exhibit enhanced programmatic reach and breadth, stronger financial reserves and liquidity, and expanded human resources, membership bases, and strategic outreach capacity, consistent with SMC functioning as a strategic digital asset that builds adaptive capacity and organizational slack essential for sustainability. Difference-in-differences analysis reveals that high-SMC organizations outperformed low-SMC organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibiting expanded programming breadth and efficiency, greater donations and reserves with improved liquidity, and larger employee and volunteer workforces. Originality/value This study provides the first large-sample evidence of social media capital's relationship to organizational resilience, bridging the digital engagement and resilience literatures. SMC is associated with measurable capacities that support survival and adaptation and is linked to superior outcomes when organizations confronted the pandemic. The findings offer actionable insights for leaders and funders on digital infrastructure investment as a pathway to resilience.