The cost of social impact: from burnout to resilience among social entrepreneurs

Purpose This study explores how social enterprise leaders experience burnout under the dual pressures of mission and market, and how recovery processes contribute to building organizational resilience. Design/methodology/approach Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with leaders in Germany, Hong Kong, and the Czech Republic. Using grounded theory coding supported by memoing, thematic patterns were developed and synthesized across four clusters of social enterprises: social and health services; environmental and circular economy; creative and experience-led; and consulting, education, and ecosystem support. Findings The analysis identifies four recurring stressors: work-life imbalance and over-commitment, mission-driven emotional burden, financial precarity, and founder dependency. These demands often trigger burnout, but they can also set in motion recovery processes. Integrating the Job Demands-Resources model with Conservation of Resources theory shows how burnout unfolds through spirals of loss and gain. Some entrepreneurs described burnout as a turning point that prompted organizational redesign, including distributed leadership, boundary-setting, and revenue diversification. Differences across clusters revealed sector-specific vulnerabilities, while varied recovery tempos demonstrated that resilience is not uniform but develops through both rapid and prolonged coping trajectories. Practical implications Targeted supports such as mentoring networks, blended finance mechanisms, and mental health provision are recommended. Strengthening founder resilience safeguards community services and enhances the long-term sustainability of the social enterprise sector. Originality/value The study reframes burnout in social entrepreneurship as a systemic, multi-level process. It contributes to theory by showing how personal recovery can translate into organizational “resilience capacity”, enabling enterprises to sustain their missions.