Nonprofit Context Research Articles

Volunteer choice of nonprofit organisation: an integrated framework

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how volunteers choose one nonprofit organisation (NPO) rather than another. It identifies the drivers of choice, and the relationship between them, to enable NPOs to strengthen their volunteer recruitment.Design/methodology/approachA total of 51 service-delivery volunteers were interviewed, drawn from 5 leading NPOs. A laddering technique was used to understand the context in which the choice of organisation was made and the underlying personal needs and goals. The data was analysed using means-end chain (MEC) methodology to uncover the relationships between, and hierarchy of, the decision drivers.FindingsBrand, cause, and role were found to be important in meeting personal needs and goals through volunteering. The paper makes three contributions. Firstly, it presents a clearer understanding of NPO choice through adopting an integrated theoretical perspective. Secondly, it identifies the decision-making process and key relationships between the attributes of the NPO, the consequences for the volunteer, and the connection to their personal needs. Finally, the study makes an important contribution to literature through presenting a new conceptual framework of volunteer decision-making in the nonprofit context to act as a catalyst for future research.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is both impactful through, and limited by, its context selection: regular service-delivery volunteers from five NPOs within two causes. The paper presents a rich research stream to extend this understanding to other nonprofit stakeholders, other causes including medical volunteer, and smaller NPOs.Practical implicationsIn an increasingly competitive nonprofit environment with a growing need to support the vulnerable in society, NPO sustainability is dependent on their ability to recruit new volunteers. NPOs compete not only with other organisations with similar causes but also those offering similar volunteering roles, and other uses of time to meet personal needs such as sport, career, or community. Understanding how volunteers make their choice of NPO rather than other uses of their time is of vital importance to make the most effective use of scarce marketing resources. This paper contributes to that practitioner understanding.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to extend the understanding of generic motivations of volunteers to consider specific choice of NPO. Unlike previous literature, the authors bring together theory on brand, cause, and role with personal needs. The authors are also the first to apply MEC methodology to the nonprofit context to uncover the personal underlying, less salient reasons behind NPO choice and the relationship between them.

Consumer Responses to Conflict-Management Strategies on Non-Profit Social Media Fan Pages

Past research has demonstrated that consumer-to-consumer (C2C) conflicts, here defined as uncivil social interactions between consumers, can have a negative impact on consumers’ engagement in social media fan pages (SMFPs). Little is known, however, about how best to manage such conflicts, and this is particularly true in the non-profit context. This paper follows a mixed-method approach in order to address this research gap. Study 1 uses a netnography of a non-profit organization (NPO) to examine how it manages C2C conflicts on its SMFP. Five different conflict-management strategies are identified: non-engaging, censoring, bolstering, educating, and mobilizing. These findings inform Study 2, an online experiment to test how different strategies affect consumers’ attitudes towards the conflict-management approach itself and towards the NPO’s social responsibility. Study 2 also accounts for the moderating effect of the conflict content, differentiating between whether a conflict relates to a consumer’s self-benefit or the benefit to others. Our results offer insights for practitioners into preferable content management strategies when consumers engage in different types of conflict on social media platforms.

Doing Well by Doing Good: A Study of Corporate Social Responsibility Among Nonprofit Hospitals

Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) offers mixed findings about the impact of CSR on organizational outcomes and the value of CSR fit with the organization’s core mission. As such, the CSR of nonprofit hospitals offers a valuable opportunity to study CSR fit as these organizations combine a social mission with business- related strategic objectives. The current research presents a theory- driven model of how customer expectations-based dimensions of CSR affect satisfaction. Our demand-based approach (e.g., customer expectations for CSR) advances prior work that has typically focused on supply-side dimensions of CSR (e.g., philanthropic vs. strategic). We address gaps in the CSR literature by: (i) studying CSR within a nonprofit context (over 1,500 nonprofit hospitals in the US) rather than for-profit context, (ii) using actual organizational spending on CSR dimensions rather than self-reported perceptions of CSR, and (iii) utilizing longitudinal data (2009 – 2014) rather than cross- sectional data. Results find that CSR fit alone does not explain organizational outcomes, but rather does so only when CSR goes above and beyond customer expectations. The study also raises an important consideration that how patients rate the quality of their hospital care is influenced by their pre-experience attitudes toward the hospital.

The role of organizational culture, capabilities, and adoption of e‐marketing on nonprofits' organizational performance

Nonprofit organizations are facing increasing challenges to survival and mission accomplishment in a market economy. Thus, many nonprofit organizations are actively exploring how to enhance organizational performance through Internet and communication technologies in the digital era. The relationship between e‐marketing adoption and organizational performance of for‐profit companies has been studied intensively. However, this relationship has not been examined in the nonprofit context. The objectives of this study are to investigate factors promoting the adoption of e‐marketing and the latter's effect on the performance of nonprofits. This paper surveyed 54 nonprofits and used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) to test the research hypotheses grounded in resource dependence theory and e‐marketing orientation. Results indicated that top management's attitudinal emphasis on e‐marketing does not lead to e‐marketing adoption. Differs from for‐profit companies, nonprofits' e‐marketing adoption is mainly related to planning and implementation capabilities. Moreover, although planning strongly influences e‐marketing adoption, implementation capabilities play a crucial role in a performance‐driven adoption. Hence, if e‐marketing is adopted without sufficient manpower and skills, organizational performance will not be enhanced even with adequate e‐marketing budget.

Research trends in nonprofit graduate studies in China: An inside perspective

AbstractThis paper explores the growth of the academic study of nonprofit management and organizations in China by examining theses and dissertations written in China between 2000 and 2018. Using a keyword search, we collect and review 5,346 abstracts available in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Thesis and Dissertation database. The number of these theses and dissertations accelerated between 2000 and 2015 and slowed thereafter. Most theses and dissertations focus on the external context of nonprofit organizations (78%) and fewer on nonprofit management per se (22%). Thematic analysis reveals several broad subjects of study including organizational development, the character of the external environment and internal operations, financial and other resource support, and organizational performance. Trends across the 19‐year study period relating to national regions of origin, discipline, and theme are also explored. The development of nonprofit studies in China in some ways resembles the growth of this field in the United States and other western countries in past decades, but with distinct Chinese historical, sociocultural, and geographical characteristics.

Nonprofit quality: What is it and why should nonprofits care?

This manuscript examines a quality‐oriented philosophy in a nonprofit context utilizing semi‐structured interviews with nonprofit executive directors. The findings indicate that nonprofit organizations do seek continuous improvement and value a long‐term focus, consistent with for‐profit quality aspirations. However, factors unique to the structure of nonprofit organizations exist and contribute to organizational quality. The interviews converged to highlight five areas that relate to organizational quality in nonprofit organizations: donor relationships, organizational transparency, board member involvement, talent recruitment, and employee commitment. The findings indicate that a quality‐oriented approach to nonprofit governance affects an organization's ability to secure funding and address the mission of the respective organization more efficiently and effectively. Thus, it is suggested that incorporating a quality‐oriented philosophy creates a competitive advantage for nonprofit organizations in an increasingly saturated market.

Successful without profits: personal factors that affect performance in NPOs

PurposeStudies on personal characteristics that influence managers' performance in their jobs and their ability to innovate focus mainly on for-profit organizations. We argue that non-profit organizations (NPOs) differ substantially from for-profit organizations in their organizational set-up and processes, so the skills they demand from their managers and employees also differ. We undertake this research to explore the personal factors that could be particularly relevant to managers' performance and innovativeness in the non-profit sector.Design/methodology/approachWe conduct a qualitative, model-building study to derive the personal factors that influence managers' intention to perform and to innovate and their behavior in that regard. The base of our analysis is 15 interviews with knowledgeable informants who either work in NPOs, provide services to them or perform research about them.FindingsWe derive 14 personal factors that can be aggregated into four categories—experience, virtues and vices, interpersonal skills and management skills—each of which affect NPO managers' individual performance and/or individual innovativeness.Originality/valueThis study adds to existing research on Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior by extending it to the nonprofit context, so it contributes to the literature on individuals' behavioral intentions.

Nonprofit branding: a bibliometric analysis

PurposeThis study aims to examine articles on nonprofit branding over an 18-year time span to develop an overview and better understanding of the subject.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the Scopus database in a search for studies that deal, regardless of the approach, with branding in a nonprofit context. Subsequently, through a systematic review, a database with 84 articles was generated and 77 articles were submitted to bibliometric analysis.FindingsThis study identified six main research areas (brand and donation, brand management, brand orientation, nonprofit and for-profit partnership, communication strategies and stakeholder management), which were analyzed and discussed, seeking to identify the relationship between research in each area. In addition, this study presents the limitations of the research and thus verify that, although this body of literature is growing, the complexity of the nonprofit sector offers several opportunities for future research, which are pointed out at the end of the study.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the academic literature on the topic by providing a systematization of knowledge about branding in the nonprofit sector and also offers insights about nonprofit branding to institutions and managers in this industry.Originality/valueThis is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, to evaluate and quantify the progress of brand literature in the nonprofit sector.

Volunteer translators as ‘committed individuals’ or ‘providers of free labor’? The discursive construction of ‘volunteer translators’ in a commercial online learning platform translation controversy

This study explores the ways in which volunteer translation in a commercial context is discursively constructed. It focuses on volunteer translation at Coursera, one of the world’s largest MOOC providers, and its volunteer translator community, launched in 2014 to offer online learning in multiple languages. This move to mobilize volunteer translators by Coursera, a for-profit company, became controversial as different parties voiced distinct opinions regarding a commercial company’s recruitment of volunteer translators. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and drawing on the notion of digital labor, this paper argues that volunteer translation is described by Coursera mostly in terms of a mission and a learner-initiated and community-building activity. This contrasts with the view of many social critics who tend to emphasize profit-making strategies, labor exploitation, and the degradation of the translation profession in their discursive construction of volunteer translation. This study shows that Coursera’s foregrounding of a moral rationale and of philanthropic and non-profit discourses blurs the boundary between for-profit and non-profit contexts and does the ideological work of naturalizing translation without financial compensation in the context of a commercial company.

Nonprofit entrepreneurial orientation: A systematic literature review and conceptual framework

AbstractThe 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.

Nonprofit Pricing: Determinants of Membership Fee Levels in Nonprofit Sports Clubs in Germany

Abstract: In Germany, membership fees in nonprofit sports clubs are comparatively lower than fees or prices for other leisure time activities, such as sports offers from fitness clubs, music schools, or theatre visits. However, it is unclear on which basis sports clubs set their membership fees for different groups and why fees differ between clubs. Based on panel data of nonprofit sports clubs in Germany ( n =1,538), this study investigates which factors influence the setting of membership fee levels using classical pricing-approaches adapted to the nonprofit context. The results show that costs related to coaches and instructors as well as facility costs significantly determine the level of membership fees, whereas perceived competition does not. Moreover, club goals such as offering competitive sports or sports for socially vulnerable groups have an impact on the level of membership fees. Furthermore, clubs with higher revenue diversification display lower levels of membership fees two years later.

Constraints and Strategies to Scaling Up in Sport for Development and Peace Organizations: Evidence From the Field

The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the constraints faced by managers as they attempt to scale up their sport for development and peace (SDP) organizations, and to identify the strategies they are employing to mitigate these constraints. Previous research has not examined constraints to scaling up in the SDP nonprofit space. Findings revealed three major themes related to challenges within four types of scaling up (quantitative, functional, political, organizational); skepticism about sport as a development tool, funding challenges leading to an entrepreneurial mind-set, and challenges associated with a general lack of business acumen among key leaders. Within each of these three themes, strategies for addressing these constraints are illuminated. These constraints and strategies are positioned within the broader nonprofit context, and theoretical and practical implications for scaling up SDP organizations are also explicated.

Special Issue on Gender Identity and Expression and Sexual Orientation (LGBTQ+) in the Public and Nonprofit Contexts

When I was a graduate student, in the early 2000s, a well-meaning senior faculty member urged me not to write a dissertation related to “gay rights.” He convinced me that a dissertation on environm...

Pure and hybrid strategies in social enterprises: an empirical investigation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shift the idea of competitive strategy from the for-profit to the non-profit context and to explain how social enterprises (SEs) get advantages over competitors within and outside the social sector.Design/methodology/approachBased upon a sample of 63 SEs located in Greece, the exploratory research employs factor analysis to answer which strategic options they have to compete. Subsequent analysis of variance and correlation analysis were performed to answer if competitive strategic options relate to impact SEs generate.FindingsThe empirical findings identify and empirically validate a variety of strategic options based on four pure (low cost, low cost sustainability, low cost focus and differentiation focus) and one hybrid (efficient differentiation) types of competitive advantage. Additional evidence shows that hybrid compared to pure strategic options link more influentially to impact in terms of positive environmental, social and economic contributions.Research limitations/implicationsApart from providing some explanations of how mission-driven businesses compete, it helps widening the debate of pure vs hybrid strategies beyond the commercial sector. Contrary to what the authors already know, the evidence presented here shows that strategic purity and hybridization co-exist in the social sector.Originality/valueThis is the first study with empirical evidence on competitive strategies from businesses in the third sector emphasizing how SEs ensure competitive advantage along with impact potential. Consequently, the authors respond to recent calls for more survey-based, quantitative evidence in the social entrepreneurship field.

Are We Innovative? Increasing Perceptions of Nonprofit Innovation Through Leadership, Inclusion, and Commitment

Innovation is particularly important for the sustainability, functioning, and improvement of public and nonprofit organizations. Researchers have called for the examination of how leaders can foster innovation in the nonprofit context. This study examined whether climate for inclusion and affective commitment were key mechanisms by which transformational leadership increased perceptions of innovation in a diverse nonprofit health care organization. Data were collected at three points in 6-month intervals from a U.S. nonprofit hospital. Longitudinal multilevel path analysis revealed transformational leaders increase perceptions of nonprofit innovation through helping every organizational member feel valued as an important member of the group and appreciated for their unique personal characteristics (fostering a climate for inclusion). Inclusion increases organizational members’ emotional attachment to the organization (affective commitment), which then enhances favorable perceptions of innovation wherein members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and perspectives with one another (critical to workplace innovation).

Employing Service-Learning to Reinforce Effective Program Theory in the Arts

Nonprofit arts organizations not only struggle to apply traditional program design and evaluation techniques to artistic outcomes but also have limited capacity in carrying out such practices that are essential to sound programs and organizational learning. This research positions graduate-level service-learning programs both as a solution for arts organizations with limited capacity in program design and as a robust pedagogical tool for students studying program theory in the nonprofit context. Framed by the complexities facing nonprofit arts organizations in employing traditional management techniques, I describe a graduate-level service-learning project that offers evidence of impact for increased organizational and student learning. Additionally, the research provides lessons learned for equivalent experiential learning settings, specifically in the nonprofit arts context. Subscribe to JNEL

Strategizing for social change in nonprofit contexts: A typology of communication approaches in public communication campaigns

Public communication campaigns aim to create social change by influencing audiences’ behaviors and thus help nonprofit organizations fulfill their mission. These campaigns, however, often fail to deliver their anticipated impact. Using public relations research as a theoretical lens, this paper's contribution is twofold: first, we develop a typology that classifies the different communication approaches used in public communication campaigns. Based on one of the most prominent public relations theories, the Four Models of Public Relations, we differentiate communication approaches along the dimensions of communication purpose and communication style. Combining these two dimensions in a typology, we identify the following communication approaches: directing, platforming, mobilizing, and involving. We provide numerous real‐life examples of public campaigns for each one. Second, we formulate propositions about these communication approaches’ effectiveness relying on a key concept of public relations research: namely, audience segmentation. Using the transtheoretical model, we show that audiences can be segmented along five “stages of readiness to adopt a promoted behavior.” Conceptualizing behavior change as an iterative, dynamic process that entails stage progresses as well as backdrops, we derive how audiences’ “stage of readiness” relates to the effectiveness of the identified communication approaches.

The Effect of Revenue Diversification on Output Creation in Nonprofit Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective

Nonprofits continue to be faced with financial challenges to fulfill their missions. Both the academic literature and nonprofit practitioners have explored revenue diversification and concentration strategies to meet these challenges. While these two strategies are essentially antagonistic, both have received support as being viable strategies to create better outcomes for the organization. This article examines whether revenue diversification or concentration strategies lead to greater mission outputs in a nonprofit context. Using resource dependence theory as a guiding framework, two opposing hypotheses are tested to gain more insight into the diversification versus concentration dilemma. A unique dataset is built and utilized to estimate a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model to assess the correlation between revenue diversification and mission outputs. Results indicate that revenue diversification (and not concentration) is associated with an increase in organizational outputs.

THE EFFECT OF CELEBRITY ENDORSER ATTRIBUTES, ISSUE INVOLVEMENT AND PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS ORGAN DONATION REGISTRATION

Celebrity endorsement has been extensively used in both profit and non-profit marketing.However, the effectiveness of the marketing strategy in the non-profit context is not clear. In generating a positive attitude towards organ donation registration, health and science literature have suggested the use of celebrity endorser. In addition, issue involvement is also assumed to yield a favourable attitude towards organ donation. Furthermore, the influence of perceived social support has been greatly discussed in the organ donation literature. Despite these phenomena discussed in the literature, the role of the three variables on attitude towards organ donation registration is ambiguous. Thus, this paper is aimed to investigate the effect of celebrity endorser, issue involvement and perceived social support towards attitude. Data from 466 university students were gathered using purposive sampling. IBM SPSS Statistic 23 and SmartPLS 3.0 were utilized in data analysis. The findings from this paper showed that likeability, trustworthiness and issue involvement generate a positive attitude towards organ donation registration. Implications of this research to both practical and future research are also discussed. This paper hopes to increase researchers’ interest to further investigate and contribute to the literature of organ donation in the context of social marketing.

Brand Strategy Co-Creation in a Nonprofit Context: A Strategy-as-Practice Approach

Literature increasingly acknowledges stakeholders’ voluntary involvement in formerly internal processes and structures of nonprofit organizations. This article contributes to extant literature by investigating how stakeholders get involved in and co-create brand strategy, a core intangible asset for nonprofit organizations. To this end, the article conceptualizes the process of nonprofit brand strategy co-creation from a strategy-as-practice perspective and empirically investigates this process in the context of a child care facility. The article identifies four processes characterizing strategic branding praxis—informing, relating, caring, and reassuring—that manifest in a variety of situated practices and foster the maintenance of a strategic status quo. The data further show a dynamic interplay of stability and adaptation shaped by individual, organizational, and market contexts. These findings provide the basis for proposing a model of brand strategy co-creation that synthesizes the social and contextual dynamics characterizing brand strategy development in a nonprofit context.