Analysis of the Management Process of Centres for Services for Voluntary Organisations from a Stakeholder Management Perspective

Abstract

Considering the assumption that the performance of Nonprofit Organisations (NPOs) depends upon stakeholders’ perceptions, in an NPO, strategic management of stakeholders entails not only responding to their requests, but also guiding them in order to align their needs, values and objectives with the mission of the organisation. Given the background on the managerial characteristics that distinguish an NPO and a profit organisation, and the different role of a stakeholder approach in these two kinds of organisations, the paper will discuss the strengthens and weaknesses of a particular type of Italian NPO – Centres for Services for Voluntary Organisations (CSVs) – and will suggest that a proactive dialogue between CSVs and their stakeholders could help these organisations align their stakeholders’ claims to the organizational mission and to better define and develop strategies and activities coherent with the mission. The research was carried out using the action research model (Lewin, 1946) and the findings are based on the analysis of a sample of 61 CSVs throughout Italy.