The influence of social capital on organisational resilience in the context of a developing country entrepreneurial ecosystem

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the growth and sustainability of economies across the globe. The survival rate of SMEs beyond three years is low in many countries including Botswana. Therefore, organisational resilience is critical for the growth and sustainability of developing county economies. Some of the factors that impacted organisational resilience were established to be institutional foundations, policy frameworks, processes and practices, entrepreneurial mindset, and level of collaboration within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The research was designed to be an exploratory qualitative study that explores how SMEs utilized their social capital to access the ecosystem actors and other entrepreneurial ecosystem participants through their social networks to gain access to resources, information and funding for survival and resilience during business challenges and crises. Research data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with SME owners as well as ecosystem actors in the public and private sector who support SMEs in the agriculture, tourism, and technology sectors in Botswana. The study outcomes contribute to the literature and provide recommendations for enhancing the entrepreneurial ecosystems’ effectiveness and social capital influence for SME resilience.