Reframing knowledge for impact: digital knowledge dynamics, resilience and social value in social entrepreneurship

Abstract

This study aims to examine how different digital knowledge processes – knowledge creation, dissemination and utilization – contribute to social value creation (SVC) in social enterprises through the mediating role of entrepreneurial resilience. It shifts attention to the micro-level mechanisms through which digital knowledge is put into practice, explaining how mission-driven entrepreneurs convert digital knowledge into sustained social impact under conditions of uncertainty. Survey data were collected from 162 social entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the proposed model. Resilience was modeled as a dynamic mediating capability, drawing on knowledge dynamics theory and absorptive capacity reasoning to link digital knowledge processes with SVC. The results show that digital knowledge utilization is the only dimension with a direct and significant effect on SVC, whereas knowledge creation and dissemination do not exert direct effects but operate indirectly through resilience. This indicates an indirect-only mediation pattern for knowledge creation and dissemination and complementary partial mediation for knowledge utilization. Resilience demonstrates both a direct effect and a mediating role, underscoring its importance as an adaptive capability that conditions how effectively digital knowledge is transformed into actionable and socially impactful outcomes in resource-constrained environments. The use of cross-sectional, perceptual data limits causal inference and the comprehensive measurement of SVC. Future research may extend this work by testing the model across diverse emerging economies, incorporating objective and multidimensional indicators of social value and using longitudinal designs to better capture the evolving relationship between digital knowledge and resilience. This study highlights that technology adoption alone is insufficient to generate social impact. For practitioners, the findings emphasize the need to build absorptive capacity, strengthen resilience and embed digital knowledge into decision-making routines. For policymakers, digital infrastructure investments should be complemented with capacity-building initiatives, resilience training and ecosystem-level knowledge-sharing platforms to strengthen social entrepreneurship in emerging economies. This study contributes by refining and extending knowledge dynamics theory in the context of social entrepreneurship, demonstrating that digital knowledge processes do not independently generate social value but require adaptive enactment through resilience. It further integrates a dynamic capabilities perspective by positioning resilience as a mediating capability rather than a static trait. Moving beyond monolithic views of digital transformation, this study disaggregates digital knowledge processes and provides an empirically grounded framework explaining how and when digital knowledge translates into SVC at the micro (entrepreneurial) level.