Collaboration Between Nonprofit and Business Sectors: A Framework to Guide Strategy Development for Nonprofit Organizations

Collaboration between nonprofit and business sectors is widely regarded as a value creation process that benefits society, business, and nonprofit organizations (NPOs). This process, however, has rarely been considered from a nonprofit perspective. In this paper, we discuss a new framework to assist NPOs in developing strategic collaborations with businesses. We argue that, by being strategically proactive rather than reactive to what businesses might offer, NPOs can increase the scale of their cross-sector collaborations and thus enhance their sustainability. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Devolution of Services to Children and Families: The Experience of NPOs in Nanaimo,British Columbia,Canada

This study focuses on the current experience of Nanaimos nonprofit family and child service organizations (N = 29) providing services on behalf of government and their adaptation to this devolution. The effects and consequences of contracting on organizational practices, accountability, and services were explored through interviews and focus groups with executive directors, board members, line staff, government representatives, and the United Way. Results show that a significant proportion of funding comes from provincial government contracts. The funding climate is uncertain, and there is considerable confusion, stress, and time involved with the contracting process. Accountability requirements are demanding and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) express concern about a shift to a business management model. Recommendations include a need for increased collaboration between NPOs, a body that speaks for the voluntary sector, and improved relationships between NPOs and government funders.     

Nonprofit organizations in between the nonprofit and market spheres: Shifting goals,governance and management?

In spite of the belief instilled by the New Public Management reforms that nonprofit organizations (NPOs) can benefit from more management, more measurement and more market practices, systematic knowledge on the organizational effects of NPOs incorporating business practices in their day‐to‐day functioning remains absent to date. This research note addresses this limitation by reviewing 49 research articles. The focus lies on the redefinition of nonprofits' mission and income streams, changing governance arrangements and shifting management practices. We find that, despite numerous detrimental effects cited in the literature, (a) generating commercial income can contribute to the financial stability of NPOs, and (b) hybridization towards the market domain can strengthen the organizational legitimacy of NPOs, suggesting that imitating for‐profit enterprises might contribute to nonprofit functioning in perception, rather than in practice.     

Nonprofit entrepreneurial orientation: A systematic literature review and conceptual framework

The purpose of this study is to propose a set of factors that characterize the manifestation of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs), and we performed a systematic review of the literature. Initially, 17 studies were identified in different databases, and after a full reading of the documents that met the objective of this study, we selected and qualitatively analyzed 14 theoretical and empirical studies about EO in the nonprofit context. The studies analyzed allowed us to understand the characteristics of organizational entrepreneurship in NPOs, through the dimensions of innovativeness, proactivity, risk‐taking, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness, in addition to the reciprocity dimension, which emerged from the literature. By adding reciprocity as the sixth dimension of the EO construct, it was possible to group a set factors related to each dimension which, after being refined, supported the proposition of a conceptual framework for an empirical analysis of entrepreneurial behavior in different contexts of NPOs. This study contributes to the systematization of factors that configure the manifestation of EO in the nonprofit sector, by proposing a conceptual framework entailing six dimensions of EO and propositions for future studies.     

NPO,Internal Controls,and Supervision Mechanisms in a Developing Country

The premise of this paper is that effective supervision and proper internal control system (ICS) can promote accountability and transparency, and this will attract more donors. However, in a developing country like Malaysia, it is common that proper accounting standards are not available, the laws are not enforced, and charities often struggle for survival. Debates on regulating nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have been sensitive to many and are often left unresolved, and some quarters believe that NPOs should be left to handle their own affairs. This paper provides evidence from a survey of 60 charities on the status of their ICS. It briefly describes the current state of regulations in Malaysia and makes a case for better monitoring of the sector, as this might be the reason NPOs are lacking in their ICS. We propose what type of regulation and assistance can be provided by the authorities to this sector, not only in Malaysia but also in other developing countries facing similar challenges.     

Understanding Nonprofit Advocacy in Non-Western Settings: A Framework and Empirical Evidence from Singapore

Research on nonprofit advocacy in non-Western settings is still rather limited. In this article, we address this limitation by examining the advocacy practices of nonprofit charitable organizations in Singapore, a non-liberal democratic city-state in Southeast Asia with a history of colonial rule. We ask the following questions: What are the key environmental and organizational factors that influence the scope and intensity of advocacy activities of nonprofit organizations? In particular, what is the effect of the political context on the advocacy strategies and tactics among these organizations? To answer these questions, we present a three-factor explanatory model of nonprofit advocacy incorporating cause, capacity, and context. The research methodology entails a survey of nonprofit executives from a random sample of Singapore human and social service organizations. Our findings shed light on how the various aspects of the political context—perceived opportunities and threats from government intervention and dependence on government funding—shape nonprofit advocacy in a non-Western setting.     

Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness: Contrasts Between Especially Effective and Less Effective Organizations

How do key stakeholders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) judge the effectiveness of their organization? Are the judgments of stakeholders similar, and how are board effectiveness and the use of practitioner-identified correct management procedures related to judgments of effectiveness? This study focuses on a subset of especially effective and less effective NPOs from a larger sample and finds that the especially effective have more effective boards (as judged by various stakeholder groups), have boards with higher social prestige, use more practitioner-identified correct management procedures, and use more change management strategies. Practical implications discussed include adopting more correct management procedures and change management strategies.     

The effects of scaling strategies on the scaling of social impact: Evidence from Chinese social enterprises

Conventional nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and social enterprises (SEs) face constant challenges when scaling their social impacts, especially in societies undergoing transformation, such as China, where NPO and SE ecosystems are still nascent. Whereas previous studies have identified various scaling approaches for SEs, empirical investigations of the linkages between scaling strategies and scaling performance are lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a quantitative study of 293 Chinese SEs to examine how the four types of scaling strategies brought about different scaling performances and how the results varied upon organizational form. Our results revealed that three of these scaling strategies, namely knowledge dissemination, organizational growth, and contractual partnerships, contributed positively and significantly to scaling performance, whereas capacity building had a positive but not statistically significant effect. Our results also indicated that the positive contributions of organizational growth and knowledge dissemination to scaling performance were reinforced in SEs organized as nonprofits. Moreover, the results indicated that SEs that deployed combined and diversified scaling strategies demonstrated better scaling performance than those that deployed just one strategy. Our findings have important managerial implications for practitioners within the SE community, and especially providing a scientific basis for the managers of nonprofit SEs to select appropriate scaling strategies.     

Nongovernmental Organizations,Business, and the Management of Ambiguity

Partnerships between business and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that seek to promote fair trade between small scale producers in poor countries and Western consumers are opening up new and potentially challenging approaches to development in terms of income generation, local capacity building, and alternative sources of NGO funding. However, such ventures face a distinctive set of problems, many of which arise because these ventures are located uncomfortably on the boudary between the nonprofit and the business sectors. The concept of sectoral ambiguity helps to explain observed problems with confused expectations, management tensions, and lack of sustainability. Strengthening these partnerships will require greater transparency, market diversification, long-range planning, and the building of a set of more realistic expectations.     

Organizational Antecedents of Pay-for-Performance Systems in Nonprofit Organizations

The applicability of pay-for-performance systems (PfP-systems) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is discussed controversially both in literature and in practice. Existing theoretical models emphasize the importance of the employee’s motivation and output control for the effectiveness of PfP-systems. However, empirical evidence on which factors influence PfP-system’s introduction in NPOs is still lacking. Based on an exploratory study of nine Austrian NPOs, this paper develops hypotheses on what organizational factors distinguish NPOs that rely on PfP-systems for managing employees’ performance differences from those that use alternative approaches (e.g., job enrichment, NPO-spirit). Findings suggest that decisions on the application of PfP-systems are influenced by five determinants: perceived degree of competitiveness regarding funding and service provision; degree of strategic freedom; clarity of strategic objectives; existence of management instruments; and organizational culture.     

Structures,Challenges, and Successes of Volunteer Programs Co‐managed by Nonprofit and Public Organizations

This article presents a mixed‐methods, multicase study and comparison of volunteer programs in US national parks that have evolved, in response to growth and fiscal pressures, to be co‐managed by national park staff and their nonprofit support partners. Findings detail why and how the expanded partnerships were formed; how they operate; challenges they face; ways in which they adhere to, stretch, and depart from theories of nonprofit management, collaboration, and program institutionalization; and the significant—even exponential—volunteer program growth that resulted in each case. These nonprofit?public volunteer program partnerships—at Acadia, Arches and ­Canyonlands, Cuyahoga Valley, Golden Gate, the National Mall, and Yosemite national park sites—employ many standard forms of interorganizational relations, even though in these cases the nonprofits give money to the government organization instead of the reverse. Their volunteer program and management structures also share similar elements because of coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures. At the same time, each volunteer program partnership is a distinct blend of collaboration and management practices because of the unique natural features, climate, needs, adjacent populations, and personalities of leaders at each site. The cases employ innovative strategies to substantially increase the number of staff who lead volunteer programs. Recommendations are offered for nonprofit management research and practice, and findings are instructive for organizations that utilize volunteers either as a single entity or as part of a collaboration.     

Success and Failure of Nonprofit Organizations: Theoretical Foundations,Empirical Evidence,and Future Research

Success and failure of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have been prominent themes in the nonprofit community for more than 30 years. However, since there is no common understanding on success and failure of NPOs, the research field is still fragmented. Drawing from research on organizational success and failure in the for-profit context as a theoretical background, this paper systemizes the academic knowledge on NPO success and failure. By shedding light on theoretical approaches used, empirical evidence on the determinants of these constructs, and the sectors analyzed most frequently in this regard, the paper develops an instructive research agenda concerning studies on success and failure of NPOs.     

Retaining Critical Human Capital: Volunteer Firefighters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Effective delivery of services for the public good involves a multiplicity of organizations and actors, including those from the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. In some cases, service delivery is accomplished using programs that directly engage volunteers, including key public services like community-based and nonprofit volunteer fire departments. Volunteers in fire departments—often highly engaged volunteers with specialized training—provide vital services for a substantial portion of the United States, allowing local governments to realize considerable cost savings. Thus, issues of volunteer retention are a critical challenge for fire departments. Existing research has addressed issues of retention in a variety of settings; we argue that the challenging and particular context of fire departments is worthy of focused research. This article is an exploratory study of the predictors of voluntary firefighter retention in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We use data from a web-based survey of volunteer firefighters to examine the factors that influence volunteer retention, focusing specifically on volunteer management practices and broader job-related concepts. Results indicate that volunteer training, performance management, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment influence both short- and mid-term intent to remain, indicating that management practices and programs, as well as other contextual factors that shape satisfaction and commitment, are important in retaining volunteers.     

Mapping the Level of Development of Grassroots NPOs in China

Grassroots NPOs have emerged in China in large numbers. Although knowledge about the Chinese nonprofit sector, especially its relationship with the government is accumulating, knowledge regarding the operations of the grassroots NPOs is lacking. This study reviewed the level of development of 78 South China grassroots NPOs involving in rural education. By collecting organizational information on the NPOs’ products, structure and management, governance, human resources, finance and marketing, we developed a framework to assess their capacity. Based on organizations’ performance in the six domains, they were categorized into four different groups: the amateur do-gooders, the start-up charities, the grassroots in transition, and the aspiring young NPOs. We described the key characteristics of each group, and discussed how government policy and organizational leaders’ attitudes influenced organizations’ behavior and development. The assessment tool can be used to guide organizational capacity building in the future.     

Determinants of Charitable Donations to Large U.S. Higher Education,Hospital, and Scientific Research NPOs: New Evidence from Panel Data

We provide improved evidence on effects that fund-raising, government support, and program revenue of U.S. higher education, hospital, and scientific research nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have on donations to those NPOs and provide improved estimates of price elasticities of donations to, and donor demand for output of, those NPOs. Applying econometric tests, we find the best-specified model is two-way fixed effects, which controls for organization-specific and time-specific factors. Results suggest that U.S. higher education, hospital, and scientific research NPOs fund-raise to the point where the marginal fund-raising dollar brings in zero dollars of donations, donor demand for output of hospitals and scientific research NPOs is price inelastic and price elastic, respectively, and results are not sensitive to specification of price.     

Exploring nonprofit-business partnerships on Twitter from a network perspective

This exploratory study attempts to understand the role of nonprofits and their position in corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnership communication. Employing social network analysis, the study identifies and interprets the network strategies used by top U.S. nonprofits in communicating about their CSR partnerships on Twitter. The results show that although all the nonprofit issue sectors disclosed extensive business partnerships, they selectively mobilize communication with certain business partners. The present study extends the network approach in a CSR context. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Toward the Importance of Nonprofit Brand Equity

Various brand evaluation approaches assess the value and equity of for‐profit brands; accordant approaches for nonprofit brands, however, have been limited, and there is disagreement on what makes up a strong brand in the nonprofit sector. In response, this article provides insights into the conceptualization and operationalization of stakeholder‐based nonprofit brand equity and derives an initial measurement index. We conceptualize nonprofit brand equity as having three dimensions—nonprofit brand awareness, nonprofit brand trust, and nonprofit brand commitment—thereby empirically investigating trust in nonprofit brand equity building for the first time. The methodological procedure for building the index is based on partial least squares path modeling, and we draw on a sample of forty brands (N = 3,617 brand evaluations) identified as some of the best‐known nonprofit brands in Germany. Applying the index yields some of the strongest German nonprofit brands; for example, German Red Cross has by far the highest value of brand equity, followed by Aktion Mensch and UNICEF. The nonprofit brand equity index provides the basis for nonprofit managers to compare their brands’ performance over time and develop accordant branding strategies; it can be also used by organizations from other countries.     

Does Nonprofit Marketization Facilitate or Inhibit the Development of Civil Society? A Comparative Study of China and the USA

With the rise of the global associational revolution and the expansion of neoliberalism across the world, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have increasingly tended to adopt market values and approaches in many countries. A recent debate has concerned the impacts of nonprofit marketization on the civil society sector. A primary concern among Western scholars is the potential harm that marketization may cause to the traditional roles of NPOs, especially in their ability to create and maintain a strong civil society. This article joins the debate by engaging in a comparative analysis of China and the USA to answer the following question: Are the same concerns in the West applicable to non-Western countries, particularly those gradually liberalizing but still highly controlled authoritarian countries? By exploring the variations in objectives, models, and effects associated with the marketization taking place under different political–social systems, we find that unlike the nonprofit marketization in the USA, the similar yet distinct process in China is facilitating rather than inhibiting the development of civil society. On the other hand, our findings also provide nonprofit practitioners with a contextual guideline to help them devise more effective service strategies tailored to fit diverse sociocultural settings.     

Resource Dependence Patterns and Organizational Behavior/Structure in Korean Nonprofit Organizations

This article examines the relationships among the three dimensions of resource dependence patterns (RDPs) and organizational formalization and goals in nonprofit organizations (NPOs). These three RDPs (that is, the appearance of the financial resource inflow) are resource dependency, resource diversity, and resource competitiveness. The empirical findings suggest that high dependency on government funding (high resource dependency) is positively associated with organizational formalization, although resource diversity does not have any explanatory power on organizational behavior and structure, and that a very competitive environment for resource acquisition significantly affects goal setting in NPOs. In particular, resource competitiveness well explains goal clarity and goal change in NPOs. NPOs with high resource competitiveness present clearer organizational goals or missions and are likely to experience frequent goal change.     

Five dimensions of effectiveness for nonprofit annual reports

Annual reports are an important communication device through which nonprofit entities can satisfy their duty to be accountable to donors and the public at large. The primary objective of this article is to identify best practices for annual reports based on five dimensions: completeness, accessibility, transparency, full disclosure, and relevance. This article reports on both the financial and nonfinancial content in voluntarily provided annual reports. Based on our survey, we include recommendations and examples to help nonprofit leaders improve communication with stakeholders. While many of the recommendations can be adopted at little or no additional cost, achieving the most important criterion, relevance, will require nonprofit leaders to substantially improve their reporting of organizational goals and accomplishments.