Purpose: This paper aims to verify which intangible assets attributable to intellectual capital (IC) influence the anti-cyclical nature and the resilience of social enterprises (SEs) during systemic crises and whether these factors take on particular connotations in female-run SEs.Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative methodology based on multiple case studies is used to answer the research questions. A set of SEs operating in the catering sector is analyzed. The analysis is carried out by in-depth interviews with male and female managers of SEs to understand which resilience IC factors were most activated during full emergency and recovery stages.Findings: The results confirm the anti-cyclical nature of SEs and their resilience to systemic crises. No distinct differences emerge between female and male SEs. Concerning the IC, relational capital (RC) is the most relevant intangible asset for small and medium-sized SEs. Internal and external relations support them during the crisis and the consolidation of trusted ties, formal and informal, external and internal, favor the Recovery. The RC is a crucial resource even in bigger SEs, but some differences are detected concerning the smaller ones. In the smaller SEs, informal relations prevail, while formal relations prevail in the larger ones, particularly with institutions. Furthermore, the RC is the sole or primary resource in the smaller SEs, while the bigger SEs can count on more varied intangible resources.Originality/value: This study offers an original contribution to studies on IC by focusing on the factors little analyzed by existing studies: (1) SE management, (2) the contribution of IC to the resilience of non-profit-oriented enterprises and (3) the search for elements of differentiation between SEs with male and female leadership.

This study investigates the existence and nature of a long-term relationship between geopolitical risk and the yields on Italian government bonds, over the thirty-year period from 1994 to 2024. The aim of this work is to empirically test whether a stable, long-run equilibrium relationship exists between geopolitical risk and Buoni del Tesoro Poliennali yields, and if so, to quantify its magnitude and direction. The econometric framework employed, based on Johansen’s cointegration methodology and the subsequent Vector Error Correction Model, does not impose a strictly unidirectional causal structure but instead identifies the existence of long-run equilibrium relations and short-run adjustment mechanisms between the variables. This approach allows us to consider both the possibility that geopolitical risk affects sovereign yields and that sovereign yields, in turn, may contain information relevant to the dynamics of geopolitical risk. Beyond this empirical goal, given the lack of existing literature concerning the variables that influence the risk-free rate, this investigation contributes to the literature by determining the extent to which the cost of capital, in its risk-free rate component, may be affected by geopolitical risk.