Social Bricolage and Social Business Model in Uncertain Contexts: First Insights from Minor Cultural Heritage

Most social entrepreneurship organizations (SEOs) face difficulty acquiring the resources they need to start and growth (Austin et al., 2006; Zahra et al., 2009). Bricolage has traditionally represented one of the most adopted option used by SEOs (Desa & Basu, 2013; Linna, 2013). Much of the previous research into the role of bricolage framework in SEOs explore how this process is developed (Di Domenico et al., 2010) and how it helps SEOs to achieve their social mission (Mair & Marti, 2009). Building on recent literature (Di Domenico et al., 2010; Desa & Basu, 2013; Bacq et al., 2015; Zollo et al., 2018), the recent concept of social bricolage is an entrepreneurial opportunity to address emergent social needs, in contexts characterized by resource scarcity, high levels of uncertainty in economic environments and the seasonality of activities (e.g. Langevang et al. 2012), such as minor (often abandoned and not fully exploited) cultural heritage. Cultural SEOs able to respond to the social need for a broader cultural heritage consumption, to make abandoned sites available to citizens and tourists, filling a welfare gap (Pol & Ville, 2009; Murray et al., 2010; Caulier-Grice et al., 2012). Special attention has been given to topics such as community engagement, stakeholder participation, and maintaining external legitimacy, all within the particularly resource-constrained area of SEOs (Gundry et al., 2011a; Gundry et al., 2011b). As known, a great part of the enormous Italian cultural heritage lacks a careful management and enhancement processes. The inadequacy of the public model and the non-profitability of the private one in the management and protection of the minor cultural heritage has triggered many organizations trying to defend and manage this heritage against from neglect. Despite the crisis of both public and private profit-driven models, in the last years, new initiatives arose, and new projects are designed to meet this social need, drawing on the domain of social entrepreneurship. Building on these considerations, this study aims to investigate the main features of social bricolage in cultural SEOs, the sustainability of this initiatives and the social dimensions able to produce social innovation. Our analysis is part of an ongoing research “Napoli Attiva Project” on new business model in the development of the so-called minor and abandoned cultural heritage in Naples (Italy).