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

Md. Abu Hasnat, Khandakar Kamrul Hasan and Hissan Khandakar

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 2026, 1-27

Abstract: PurposeThis 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/approachA 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.FindingsGovernance 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 implicationsIntegrating governance controls within digital systems and aligning workforce development with feedback and monitoring enhances readiness, transparency and long-term sustainability.Originality/valueThis 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.

Keywords: Digital transformation; Workforce resilience; Governance maturity; Capability building; Social enterprise; Crisis readiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jpbafm:jpbafm-11-2025-0310

DOI: 10.1108/JPBAFM-11-2025-0310

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