Sustainable Scaling of Social Impact through Bricolage within Social Entrepreneurship: The Case of Four Square Edinburgh

This teaching case study is focused on the concept of bricolage – a loose bundle of experimental practices which seek to employ resources more effectively. It analyses how bricolage is often used by social enterprises to scale their social impact sustainably within a landscape of resource constraints. Four Square’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jane Devine, is currently contemplating how to increase the social impact of her organisation, so that it can deliver greater benefits to a larger number of beneficiaries. The case study examines how some of the actions which she has recently taken, and some which she is contemplating, represent bricolage. The concept is analysed within the context of an Edinburgh-based social enterprise whose purpose is to “support people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless” (Four Square, 2025). Finally, the case also contemplates the actual and potential outcomes of bricolage in terms of scaling Four Square’s social impact.