Nonprofit Context Research Articles

Exploring the Connection between Purchasing and Donation

While much has been discussed in marketing about the nature of purchase behaviors in commercial contexts, very little touches upon the intersection of purchase and donation behavior. Our objective in this research is to propose a model of how donation and purchase behavior intersect and to determine the relationship between them in a nonprofit context. Based on theories in social psychology and behavioral economics, we use a Poisson/Gamma mixture model by merging purchasing and donation data from a performing arts center. We found that various pieces of information presented in the transaction data can function as indicators and proxies of behavioral attitudes.

Brand ‘infrastructure’ in nonprofit organizations: Challenges to successful brand building?

The particular purpose of this study was to examine and explore the factors necessary within nonprofit organizations (NPOs) for successful branding, and challenges in their implementation. The approach was an appropriate inductive qualitative one, conducted through depth interviews with opinion formers. Although there has been some research into the variables necessary to successfully build brands, only limited work considers anything other than commercial branding contexts. The originality is that through this work both theory and practice of branding in NPOs will be better informed so that structures to support branding can be better managed. Factors considered important to branding were identified, particularly leadership, employee understanding and clear vision. It was interesting that respondents generally agreed that limited marketing budgets were not necessarily a major problem. The research also identified variables that contribute to a conceptual model of nonprofit brand management, experiential and emotional branding in particular being notable as offering possible platforms for differentiation. The work is exploratory in nature and therefore informs understanding of brand management in a nonprofit context and forms a basis for wider empirical testing.

Capacity for Change: Dynamic Capabilities in Public Organizations

This paper seeks to understand the underlying processes that support change implementation in public and nonprofit organizations. It examines the role of dynamic capabilities in public organizations undergoing planned transformative service changes. We extend existing research on dynamic capabilities in public and nonprofit organizations by suggesting four capabilities important for social service delivery organizations undergoing change. Based on two waves of data collection that included 56 interviews in four states, we found the capability to integrate new organizational practices, the capability to analyze and use data to inform decision-making, the capability to generate stakeholder commitment, and the capability to collaborate with other organizations to be critical to an organization’s perceived ability to carry out its mission and its change agenda. Analysis of findings indicates the importance of both development and deployment of dynamic capabilities. Future research areas are suggested as a way to further develop the concept of dynamic capabilities and its application to public and nonprofit contexts.

How do Universities Make Progress? Stakeholder-Related Mechanisms Affecting Adoption of Sustainability in University Curricula

This paper develops a theoretical model to explicate stakeholder-related mechanisms that affect university adoption of sustainability in curricula. This work combines stakeholder and institutional theories so as to extend both. By examining change in the university context wherein there is confusion about sustainability adoption, this research adds to previous institutional theory focusing on strongly contested practices, primarily in the for-profit firm setting. Sustainability is a transformational challenge and may be adopted reactively or proactively. Also, stakeholder theory is extended in a mixed profit and non-profit context. Propositions suggest how the extent of embeddedness affects an organizations’ selection of stakeholders, consequently affecting the type of adoption. This facilitates a greater understanding of why two competing definitions of stakeholders may operate. Moreover, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are discussed as affecting adoption in different ways. A responsible leader organization is newly defined and intrinsic motivation is proposed as underlying its choice of the widest set of stakeholders leading to broad, proactive adoption.

Being business-like while pursuing a social mission: Acknowledging the inherent tensions in US nonprofit organizing

Nonprofit organizations face an increasing expectation to be more business-like. Although scholars have theoretically explored this phenomenon and studied its influence in various contexts, there has been little empirical examination of the ways in which nonprofit practitioners themselves describe and make sense of their organizations and their work as business-like. Specifically, scholars have not explored the ways in which nonprofit practitioners communicatively reconcile the inherent tensions between being business-like and the pursuit of a social mission. Based on findings from an eight-month ethnographic field study of a US nonprofit organization, this article describes the sophisticated ways in which nonprofit practitioners understand, define and negotiate the need to be business-like within the nonprofit context and the central role of communication in that process. Additionally, critical assessment of these findings reveals the political qualities of talking about nonprofit organizing as being business-like, leading to potential transformative redefinitions of the business-like imperative that acknowledge rather than suppress conflicts inherent in the practice of nonprofit organizing.

Understanding capacity through the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in nonprofit community sport organizations

Engaging in relationships with other organizations is one way for nonprofit community sport organizations (CSOs) to acquire needed resources, knowledge, and other social benefits while achieving important public purposes and building community cohesion. This study explored the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in CSOs through semi-structured interviews with presidents of these organizations (N=20). The findings revealed key relationship processes including trust, consistency, balance, and engagement as well as specific management skills. The findings also revealed that relationships impacted CSOs through enabling improvements to program/service quality and operations, and enhancing community presence. The study contributes to the interorganizational relationship literature and our understanding of how relationships advance organizational goals in this small nonprofit context.

Measuring market orientation in nonprofit organizations

Past studies have shown that market orientation improves performance in nonprofit organizations. As a result, nonprofit practitioners' and researchers' interest in the theory of market orientation has been growing over the years. However, much less attention has been paid to developing a proprietary scale of market orientation in the nonprofit context. Previous studies have relied on the MARKOR scale with minor changes in its wordings to suit the nonprofit context. Synthesizing B. Shapiro's (1973. Marketing for nonprofit organizations. Harvard Business Review, 51(5), 223–232) dual target-customer perspective with J. Narver and S. Slater's (1990. The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54(2), 20–35) view of market orientation, P. Modi and D. Mishra (2010. Conceptualising market orientation in non-profit organisations: Definition, performance, and preliminary construction of a scale. Journal of Marketing Management, 26, 548–569) offered a conceptualization of market orientation in nonprofit organizations (MONPO), and constructed a preliminary scale to measure it. This paper refines the preliminary MONPO scale and constructs a parsimonious, valid, and psychometrically versatile confirmatory scale using data from 579 nonprofit organizations engaged in delivering community services. Social desirability and method biases do not seem to adversely affect the finalized MONPO scale.

An Investigation of Centers for Innovation

The center for innovation model is a growing and prominent phenomenon across corporate, government, nonprofit, and university contexts. Based on the name, one would infer an aim is to serve as a mechanism that catalyzes innovation. A further aim would be to serve as exemplars of technology development, knowledge development, and knowledge dissemination in the course of delivering a given mission. To date, little work has examined the center for innovation phenomenon and so there is a need to investigate these inferences and provide an understanding for the basis and rationale for why organizations across various contexts are pursuing centers for innovation. Examining mission statements followed by an electronic survey of 66 centers for innovation, we characterize the practices, rationales, success factors, challenges, and other descriptors of these centers in an effort to understand their operating characteristics. Results suggest four archetypes for the center for innovation model based on constituency. Results also show similarities across success factors and challenges, with sustainable funding clearly a common challenge.

Market orientation in nonprofit organizations: innovativeness, resource scarcity, and performance

The theory of market orientation, emerging from the context of for-profit organizations, has potential application and use in the nonprofit sector. This research proposes links between market orientation, innovativeness, resource scarcity, funding source, and performance related variables in the nonprofit context. Based on the empirical data from 579 nonprofit organizations in India engaged in service delivery to beneficiaries, the study shows that market orientation in nonprofit organizations improves peer reputation, beneficiary satisfaction, and innovativeness. However, market orientation alone is not enough. Innovativeness is the missing link that mediates the market orientation and effectiveness relationship. The study shows that market orientation does not help in attracting resources in the Indian context, a finding which runs counter to the evidences from previous studies carried out in the context of developed countries. The study finds that resource scarcity and funding sources do not moderate the market orientation and performance relationship. The implications for practitioners are discussed.

‘White knuckle care work’: violence, gender and new public management in the voluntary sector

Drawing on comparative data from Canada and Scotland, this article explores reasons why violence is tolerated in non-profit care settings. This article provides insights into how the predominantly female (paid) workers’ orientations to work, the desire to care and the intrinsic rewards from working in a non-profit context interact with the organization of work and managerially constructed workplace norms and cultures to offset the tensions in an environment characterized by scarce resources and poor working conditions. This article also outlines how the same environment of scarce resources causes strains in management’s efforts to establish these cultures. Working with highly excluded service users, workers find themselves working at the edge of their endurance, beginning to participate in various forms of resistance, suggesting that even among the most highly committed, ‘white knuckle care’ may be unsustainable.

Understanding the Manifestation of Entrepreneurial Orientation in the Nonprofit Context

The nonprofit sector serves an increasingly important entrepreneurial role in the economy. Scholars have taken an interest in entrepreneurship in nonprofits and have drawn upon entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as a methodological tool to advance knowledge in this domain. However, the nonprofit context differs from the for–profit context for which the EO scale was developed, particularly with regard to motivations, processes, and outcomes. We propose a new approach for capturing the manifestation of EO in the nonprofit context. A typology is presented to highlight the multiple facets of EO in the nonprofit context. We conclude with implications for scholars and practitioners.

Donor Misreporting: Conceptualizing Social Desirability Bias in Giving Surveys

Although survey research is one of the most frequently used methods for studying charitable giving, the quality of the data is seldom stated or known. In particular, social desirability bias (SDB) has been found to distort data validity where respondents tend to over-report what is socially desirable and vice versa. We argue that this phenomenon has not been fully understood in the nonprofit context as existing social desirability scales are not appropriate to be used in giving surveys. Thus, this paper is the first to extend understanding of SDB to the nonprofit context and to explore its motivating factors. Based on a multidisciplinary literature review and qualitative interviews with various senior practitioners from the fundraising and marketing research sectors, it is suggested that SDB is a multidimensional construct yielding five dimensions, namely, impression management, self-deception, level of involvement, perceived benefits and social norms. The paper then discusses the implications for nonprofit researchers and concludes with directions for future research.

Meaningful work? Nonprofit marketization and work/ life imbalance in popular autobiographies of social entrepreneurship

As social entrepreneurship gains increasing acclaim and institutional support, there is a need for greater critical assessment of its practices and effects, including how it relates to current concerns about meaningful work. Our critical analysis of popular autobiographies of social entrepreneurs provides insight into how marketization forces are shaping the construction of meaningful work within the US nonprofit context. Our findings illustrate that although popular portrayals of social entrepreneurship offer a compelling vision of meaningful work centred on solving pressing social problems, they also celebrate a troubling account of work/life balance centred on self-sacrifice, underpaid and unpaid labour and the privileging of organizational commitment at the expense of health, family and other aspects of social reproduction. In focusing critical attention on popular autobiographies, our analysis contributes to ongoing efforts to understand how popular culture assists in reproducing problematic assumptions about work and professional life.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Disrupt-Then-Reframe Compliance Gaining Technique

The disrupt-then-reframe compliance gaining technique (DTR; Davis & Knowles, 1999) uses confusing language and then follows it with an additional reason to comply. The effectiveness of the DTR was meta-analyzed by calculating the weighted mean correlation coefficient (r = .28) and the weighted mean odds ratio (OR = 3.47). Using the DTR in a sales context versus a nonprofit context was a moderator of the technique's effectiveness such that the DTR was more effective in the nonprofit context (r = .32, OR = 4.14) than in the sales context (r = .20, OR = 2.46). A trim and fill test (Duval & Tweedie, 2000a, 2000b) found no evidence of publication bias.

Adapting surveys for nonprofit research

AbstractMany useful survey instruments have been developed in the for‐profit management arena, but they often require varying levels of adaptation for relevant application in the nonprofit context. This research note first explains key steps in the process for adapting and testing a survey instrument. It then illustrates how each step should be applied and reported using a case study adaptation of Hodgkinson's (1992) strategic locus of control instrument for nonprofit use.

Nonprofit Advertising: Impact of Celebrity Connection, Involvement and Gender on Source Credibility and Intention to Volunteer Time or Donate Money

Two studies examine celebrity endorsers in a nonprofit context. In Study One a framework is developed incorporating connection (congruence), source credibility, involvement, and gender as key elements in understanding the impact of celebrity endorsers on nonprofit advertising effectiveness. Hypotheses are tested in the course of the studies that manipulate celebrity connection and advertising involvement. Results support the primary model viewing a relationship between the celebrity's connection, source credibility, and intention. Study Two verifies the connection and source credibility findings of Study One, but cannot confirm the impact of the celebrity connection on intention. Study Two includes attractiveness as a source credibility dimension, and increases the number of endorser types. An attractiveness main effect on intention is identified.

Organization Development in the Non-Profit and Social Development Context

Organization Development in the Non-Profit and Social Development Context

Implications of stakeholder concept and market orientation in the US nonprofit arts context

The use of market orientation in the nonprofit context has captured researchers’ attention in the last decade for its importance in perceiving an organization’s strategic behaviors toward the designated markets. Extant research however highlights different issues. Inspired by the notion that nonprofit organization delivers services that satisfy individual and societal needs, this paper set out to conceptualize the use of market orientation in the US nonprofit arts context. A key postulate central to the argument is that market orientation in the nonprofit arts setting has been embedded in a stakeholder environment. Organization’s sustainability would depend on its capability in aligning strategic behaviors with stakeholders’ interests through organization life. To engage with stakeholders, arts executives need not only to exploit the advantages of current programs but also to explore new opportunities to attend to the underserved stakeholder networks.

Market Orientation and Organizational Performance in the Nonprofit Context: Exploring Both Concepts and the Relationship Between Them

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the concepts market orientation and organizational performance for nonprofit organizations. To understand the nature of this link in the nonprofit context, the authors will discuss and elaborate on the applicability of both concepts to nonprofits. They will develop multidimensional notions of “societal orientation” and “nonprofit organizational performance,” which fit the specific operating environment of nonprofit organizations engaged in the provision of health and social services. The authors also propose a conceptual framework that relates both notions and present the main underlying propositions. They conclude by suggesting items to empirically measure both constructs and venues for future research.

Branding in the Non-profit Context: The Case of Surf Life Saving Australia

Whilst brand management as a specific sub-field of marketing management is well developed in business research, it is still an emerging area in non-profit organisations. Non-profit organisations are faced with distinct brand challenges, which include issues related to multiple stakeholders in managing the brand and the need to negotiate partnering and sponsorship arrangements. Newly established non-profit organisations can begin their organisational development with strong branding strategies, however many established non-profit organisations have a strong brand heritage, which requires special preservation, renewal and extension strategies. This paper uses a case study methodology to examine the branding issues in Surf Life Saving Australia, a volunteer community beach safety organisation that holds a unique position in the Australian community and cultural psyche, which nevertheless must continually renew and extend its brand heritage in order to achieve its evolving organisational objectives. While the organisation is unique, the paper identifies issues in stakeholder brand management and brand preservation, renewal and extension with wider theoretical and practical implications for non-profit organisations and contemporary perspectives on branding.