Digital transformation and workforce resilience in social enterprises: governance for crisis readiness

Purpose This study examines how digital transformation, workforce resilience and governance integration influence crisis readiness in social enterprises. It explores capability-building as a potential mechanism connecting digital transformation and governance with crisis readiness, while governance maturity and ecosystem collaboration are considered contextual conditions that may shape these relationships. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design combined a comprehensive literature review of forty peer-reviewed studies with six semi-structured interviews involving governance, workforce and digital transformation leaders. Inductive coding identified three themes: governance for crisis readiness, digital transformation enablers and workforce resilience routines, interpreted through institutional theory and dynamic capability theory. Findings Governance embedded in digital workflows strengthens reliability and accountability. Capability-building routines such as micro-drills, peer learning, and digital literacy translate strategy into continuity outcomes. Ecosystem partnerships and institutional maturity amplify these effects by improving interoperability, resource sharing and collective learning. Practical implications Integrating governance controls within digital systems and aligning workforce development with feedback and monitoring enhances readiness, transparency and long-term sustainability. Originality/value This study develops a mechanism-informed conceptual framework that integrates governance maturity, digital transformation and workforce capability to explain potential pathways toward crisis readiness in social enterprises. It identifies capability-building as a proposed explanatory mechanism and ecosystem conditions as contextual influences, offering an integrative foundation for future empirical testing.