Social entrepreneurship ecosystems (SEEs) demonstrate remarkable resilience in navigating complex global challenges through sophisticated trust-based collaboration, as revealed by a comprehensive comparative qualitative study of the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Employing a rigorous research methodology, the study investigated three critical research questions: (1) how multi-stakeholder collaboration contributes to ecosystem resilience, (2) the emergence and evolution of trust-based collaborative practices during crisis periods, and (3) the transformation of ecosystem structures through crisis-driven innovation. The research design encompassed 32 in-depth semi-structured interviews with social entrepreneurs, strategically selected to ensure comprehensive representation across multiple dimensions. Participants were drawn from diverse industries, legal forms, and organizational sizes, representing nine Ukrainian oblasts and nine English regions. The interview protocol systematically explored trust levels across stakeholder groups using a 1-10 scale, delving into enterprise characteristics and stakeholder engagement strategies. Through nuanced data analysis, the study uncovered three primary trust domains: institutional trust, inter-organizational trust, and community trust. Empirical findings revealed significant variations in trust dynamics, with community trust demonstrating exceptional potential for ecosystem resilience. Social enterprises cultivating deep community connections exhibited remarkably higher adaptive capacities during crisis periods, effectively mobilizing local resources and generating innovative solutions under extreme uncertainties. Institutional trust showed considerable variability (2-7 scale), while inter-organizational trust remained consistently high (8-10), particularly when aligned with community-driven objectives. The research illuminates trust as a dynamic ecosystem resource, demonstrating how social entrepreneurship can transform crisis challenges into opportunities for collaborative innovation and sustainable social impact.
