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Board Practices of Especially Effective and Less Effective Local Non-Profit Organisations
Abstract
This study reviews evidence in support of the hypothesis that nonprofit organizations’effectiveness is related to the effectiveness of their boards of directors. It also asks whether various recommended board practices and processes affect board effectiveness. The study focuses on a subset of especially effective and less effective nonprofit organizations from a larger sample. The results show that the especially effective organizations (as judged by multiple stakeholders) have more effective boards (as judged by different multiple stakeholders) and that the more effective boards use significantly more of a set of recommended board practices. The results also show that nonprofit organizations using more of the prescribed board practices are also more likely to use other correct procedures. The results support the practical implication of urging the dissemination and adoption of the recommended practices.
... Both these goals may well support each other in the long term but, when it comes to allocation of scarce resources, tradeoffs have to be made in the short term. Such complexity requires a nonprofit organization's governance processes, rather than its managerial strategic and tactical processes, to address the preferences and interests of a multitude of potential stakeholders (Herman and Renz 2000;McClusky 2002;Solansky et al. 2008;Willems et al. 2016). Moreover, multiple organizations might be involved in the achievement of a single goal (e.g., maintaining the environment), which makes it difficult to distinguish the impact of any single organization (Kaplan 2001;Perrow 1961;Willems et al. 2014). ...
... This allows us to (1) compare mean scores for perceived governance quality across organizations and the within-group variances for the governance quality dimensions as an approximation for inter-rater agreement (Boyer and Verma 2000;Klein and Kozlowski 2000;Willems 2015). Despite the fact that the literature does not provide real cut-off values to judge high inter-rater agreement, and given the subjective nature of nonprofit performance assessments (Green and Griesinger 1996;Herman and Renz 2000), we believe this offers sufficient reliability for the aggregated results, since intra-class correlations (ICC) for all five dimensions are above 0.25, and average r WG values exceed 0.7 (Boyer and Verma 2000;Klein and Kozlowski 2000). ...
... For this, a strong sense of self-evaluation is needed in nonprofit leadership groups, both at the group and individual levels. However, in particular for nonprofit organizations, objective and decisive self-evaluations might be an almost impossible challenge, given the inherent subjective nature of nonprofit performance (Herman and Renz 2000;Willems et al. 2014). In the context of profit organizations, shareholders and customers have, as primary stakeholders, recurrent moments to express their trust in the leadership of an organization: maintaining investments in the organization and (continue to) buy products or services. ...
... Board members are a governing body of individuals responsible for the affairs and conduct of the organization (Herman & Renz, 2000). They make strategic decisions for better organizational performance when confronted with financial, institutional, or environmental difficulties (Brown, 2005;Hwang & Bromley, 2015;Miller-Millesen, 2003). ...
... Nonprofit collaboration is a significant strategy for organizational survival and legitimacy (Guo & Acar, 2005;Sowa, 2009). Considering the influential role of board members on organizational strategic decision-making (Herman & Renz, 2000), board members may also affect decisions about nonprofit collaboration. ...
... Board governance literature notes the importance of knowledgeable, responsible, and expert boards in making strategic decisions for the organizations (Brown, 2005;Brown & Guo, 2010;Chait et al., 2011;Herman & Renz, 2000. Board human capital may also play an integral role in organizational strategies for nonprofit collaboration. ...
... Effectiveness is defined as a degree of goal achievement [23] (p. 149); however, many studies [24][25][26] discuss it as several aspects: goal attainment, system resource, reputation, and multidimensional model. ...
... Effectiveness is defined as a degree of goal achievement [23] (p. 149); however, many studies [24][25][26] discuss it as several aspects: goal attainment, system resource, reputation, and multi-dimensional model. ...
... In terms of measuring effectiveness, we employ a factor analysis method. Previous studies normally adopted factor analysis to create effectiveness indicators [23,30]. To estimate the effectiveness indicator, we first estimate factor scores using the principal component analysis (PCA) and then apply a variance value as a weight for each component. ...
This study analyses efficiency and effectiveness of highway management at the state level in the United States. While the current literature on highway management has contributed to understanding infrastructure budget and finance, the relationship between efficiency and effectiveness measurements has not been sufficiently discussed in the context of sustainability. To fill this gap, this study was systemically designed to test the relationship by controlling the states’ political factors, fiscal capacity, median voter, and economic conditions. Data envelopment and principal component analysis with panel data covering 11-year time waves were used to measure both efficiency and effectiveness. The results of the fixed effects model and the spatial autoregressive panel model show a statistically strong relationship between efficiency and effectiveness which are respectively measured by two analysis approaches.
... In addition, a growing number of empirical studies can be found, examining, for example, the influence of board characteristics on hospital outcomes such as financial performance Collum, Menachemi, Kilgore, & Weech-Maldonado, 2014), strategic priorities (Alexander, Ye, Lee, & Weiner, 2006;Eldenburg & Krishnan, 2003;Goodstein, Gautam, & Boeker, 1994;Triana, Miller, & Trzebiatowski, 2014), and, more recently, quality (Jha & Epstein, 2010;Jiang, Lockee, & Fraser, 2012). The latter development is particularly important in the nonprofit literature, where other indicators of organizational effectiveness, such as fund-raising ability or program effectiveness, may be more important than financial performance (Brown, 2005;Herman & Renz, 2000). ...
... For this study, we adapted the strategic objectives of hospital governing boards based on the works of Lee et al. (2008) and Green and Griesinger (1996) to the German hospital system. To identify different dominant logics in boards' approaches to governance, we follow previous studies (e.g., Brown, 2005;Herman & Renz, 2000) and use boards' self-assessments of the importance of different hospital governance objectives to their work. Figure 1 shows the 14 strategic objectives that were included in the survey. ...
... This finding can be explained by the greater importance of fund-raising activities and greater need for external funds in U.S. hospitals. This is true even for German hospitals under nonprofit ownership, which explains why the results do not reflect the importance of the networking and fund-raising role of boards found in the nonprofit literature (Herman & Renz, 2000). Thus, the identified patterns show that an approach based on governance theory can provide theoretical support for and meaning to the various governance practices identified while adding further insight into how the theories can be combined to explore the complex role of boards in strategic decision-making in different institutional and legal contexts. ...
Background:
There is a growing need for hospital supervisory boards to support hospital management in different areas, including (financial) monitoring, resource provision, stakeholder relationships, and strategic decision-making. Little is currently known about how boards' emphases on these various governance objectives contribute to performance.
Purpose:
Using a dominant logics perspective, this article aims to detect the governance logics that hospital boards emphasize, to determine whether there are distinct clusters of hospitals with the same sets of emphases, and to show how cluster membership relates to board characteristics and financial performance.
Methodology:
Using factor analysis, we identify latent classes of governance objectives and use hierarchical cluster analysis to detect distinct clusters with varying emphasis on the classes. We then use multinomial regression to explore the associations between cluster membership and board characteristics (size, gender diversity, and occupational diversity) and examine the associations between clusters and financial performance using OLS regression.
Results:
Classes of objectives reflecting three governance theories-agency theory, stewardship theory, and stakeholder theory-can be distinguished, and hospitals can be divided into four clusters based on their board's relative emphasis on the classes. Cluster membership is significantly associated with board characteristics. There is also a significant association between cluster membership and hospital financial performance, with two of three groups performing significantly better than the reference group.
Conclusion:
High performance in hospitals can be the result of governance logics, which, compared to simple board characteristics, are associated with better financial outcomes.
Practice implications:
Hospitals can influence the emphasis placed on different governance objectives and enhance organizational success by creating boards that are small enough to be effective yet diverse enough to profit from a wide variety of expertise and experience.
... While Herman and Renz (2000) find that boards with a higher ratio of more prestigious members were determined to be more effective, they also suggest that board involvement in various activities may be used to measure board effectiveness. Herman and Renz (2000) studied 46 health and welfare service providers along with 18 providers of service to developmentally disabled persons. ...
... While Herman and Renz (2000) find that boards with a higher ratio of more prestigious members were determined to be more effective, they also suggest that board involvement in various activities may be used to measure board effectiveness. Herman and Renz (2000) studied 46 health and welfare service providers along with 18 providers of service to developmentally disabled persons. Compiling a list of 25 recommended board activities, and creating a Board-practices index, the authors discover that more effective NPO boards engage in a greater number of recommended board practices. ...
... Compiling a list of 25 recommended board activities, and creating a Board-practices index, the authors discover that more effective NPO boards engage in a greater number of recommended board practices. Herman and Renz (2000) collected judgment data from multiple stakeholders of the NPOs under investigation. Measuring the perceived effectiveness of executives, board members, and staff members, the authors conclude that the criteria stakeholders regarded as more important, reflected inputs of board members rather than outputs or activity results. ...
Existing research on the linkage between nonprofit organizations' boards of directors and organizations' performance examines various board characteristics and activities. This study explores the relationship of nonprofit board member composition and activity to a calculated revenue concentration index, an objective measure, and self-reported subjective measures. Based on the survey data of 63 nonprofit performing arts organizations, this study found that the organizations' performance improved as measured by the revenue concentration index when board members included business or community leaders, participated directly in fundraising, and had reporting committees. Results also indicated that organizations which meet with funding donors annually, demonstrate improved financial flexibility.
... Ainsi, récemment, la recherche académique s'est tournée vers la perception de l'efficacité, de l'efficience et de la performance en général afin de déterminer ces concepts dans leur entièreté (Cumberland et al., 2015;Wellens & Jegers, 2014b (Herman & Renz, 2000L. Nguyen et al., 2015). ...
... Dans la même veine, l'engagement en interne, par exemple des salariés (Park et al., 2018), des bénévoles (Gross & Rottler, 2019;Misener et al., 2020) ou des administrateurs (Green & Griesinger, 1996;Herman & Renz, 2000), joue un rôle dans la performance de la structure. Par suite, c'est l'engagement collectif au sein de l'organisation qui permet d'accroître sa performance (Barrick et al., 2015). ...
Objectif : La présente recherche explore la relation entretenue entre la gouvernance des organisations à but non lucratif et leur performance globale, qui inclut également leur impact sur leurs parties prenantes. Elle affiche donc des objectifs analytiques autour des liens avec les parties prenantes : avec qui œuvrer et à qui rendre des comptes ? comment rendre des comptes et raffermir les liens avec elles ? quels comptes rendre et quels sont les critères d’évaluation ? Les effets de la gouvernance, les formes prises par la reddition des comptes et la construction sociale de la performance et de l’impact organisationnels sont donc particulièrement étudiés.Approche et méthode : L’ancrage principal est la vision contingente des organisations, à laquelle appartiennent les théories des parties prenantes et de la dépendance aux ressources. A partir d’une démarche hypothético-déductive insérée dans le paradigme épistémique réaliste critique (PERC), les hypothèses issues de la littérature sont testées à partir de méthodes d’analyses de données textuelles, de régressions multiples logistiques et linéaires ainsi que de modèles d’équations structurelles. Les analyses ont porté sur les données des plus grandes associations françaises, sur un questionnaire auprès des dirigeants associatifs pendant la crise de la Covid-19, sur une enquête auprès de parties prenantes individuelles ainsi que sur le cas des Jeunes Agriculteurs.Résultats : Les études menées ont permis de montrer que les mécanismes de gouvernance s’expliquent notamment grâce au secteur et aux actions de l’association. En revanche, les liens entre gouvernance et performance globale sont à étudier au cas par cas. Il en va de même pour les effets de la reddition des comptes sur la performance. La performance à court-terme des associations, à savoir leur viabilité, est renforcée par le maintien des dispositifs de gouvernance tandis que l’adoption d’une orientation sociétale a des effets contrastés sur la viabilité. Enfin, globalement, la gouvernance améliore l’impact et la qualité de relation avec les parties prenantes qui elle-même a un effet positif sur l’impact organisationnel. Cependant, ces résultats doivent être étudiés dans le détail des mécanismes de gouvernance, des parties prenantes et des dimensions de la performance.Implications théoriques : Les résultats obtenus permettent de répondre aux objectifs fixés. Ainsi, la vision contingente de la gouvernance des organisations à but non lucratif conduit à une forte adaptabilité (dans chaque organisation et à ses parties prenantes). Le reporting est un mécanisme crucial de reddition des comptes mais la relation avec les parties prenantes est aussi particulièrement pertinente. Enfin, l'ensemble des concepts abordés sont contingents, permettant d'expliquer une vision émotionnelle et subjective de l’impact ainsi que la multidimensionnalité de la performance. Les théories mobilisées sont donc particulièrement adaptées pour les associations et leur opérationnalisation a été revisitée.Implications praticiennes et sociétales : Les résultats invitent à une mesure raisonnable et flexible de l’impact des organisations à but non lucratif et soulignent le caractère crucial de la gouvernance pour améliorer la performance et l’impact, en dépit des méfiances. La priorisation des parties prenantes est en outre cruciale, pour éviter les problèmes associés à la reddition des comptes holistique. Les composantes de la qualité de relation peuvent alors devenir des critères de hiérarchisation et de priorisation des parties prenantes, car elles varient selon les parties prenantes et ont un effet sur la performance et l’impact.
... Less clearly understood is how the quality or composition of the board relates to overall organizational performance (Herman & Renz, 2000). An active stream of research has therefore attempted to address perceived gaps in our understanding of what "good governance" means and how boards contribute to organizational performance. ...
... An active stream of research has therefore attempted to address perceived gaps in our understanding of what "good governance" means and how boards contribute to organizational performance. Out of this literature has emerged an understanding, based in large part on institutional and agency theories, that the conditions leading to high board performance are complex and difficult to identify (Herman & Renz, 2000) but that certain overall patterns of behavior are expected of all boards (Miller-Millesen, 2003). Because of the multifaceted nature of influences on board performance, scholars have suggested that a contingent or systems view of boards is useful as it takes into account the myriad influences of an organization's ecology (e.g., markets, human capital) on organizational development (Bradshaw & Toubiana, 2014;Cornforth, 2012;Miller-Millesen, 2003;Ostrower & Stone, 2010). ...
Despite an active stream of “good governance” research, there is not yet much nonprofit scholarship examining how the gender composition of a board or its leadership relates to board performance. This article helps to fill this gap, focusing on the governance practices of US‐based nonprofits serving a domestic or international membership. A structural equation model finds that the presence of female leaders relates to the performance of nonprofit boards both directly and indirectly through these leaders' presumed influence on board characteristics and operation. This research advances the field by empirically testing a longstanding theory that board performance is both multidimensional and contingent on the market and labor environment, organizational capacity and other characteristics—in this case, gender dynamics. We find there are some positive relationships between female board leadership and clearly defined measures of board performance. These findings also suggest that a strategy to balance a board's gender may serve many nonprofits, but gender representation works in tandem with other board characteristics.
... Research on nonprofit governance identifies governance practices that are commonly used in general, and practices used by effective nonprofit organizations (Herman and Renz, 2000). In terms of mechanisms for choosing board members, factors considered include whether or not the nominating committee was comprised of outside members (that was rarely adopted in practice-Robbins and Taylor 2014) and how actively the chief executive participated in board selection (a practice adopted often in the "most effective" organizations studied- Herman and Renz 2000). ...
... Research on nonprofit governance identifies governance practices that are commonly used in general, and practices used by effective nonprofit organizations (Herman and Renz, 2000). In terms of mechanisms for choosing board members, factors considered include whether or not the nominating committee was comprised of outside members (that was rarely adopted in practice-Robbins and Taylor 2014) and how actively the chief executive participated in board selection (a practice adopted often in the "most effective" organizations studied- Herman and Renz 2000). However, there is very little research that explores the precise mechanism that is used to choose board members. ...
... Among other reasons, nonprofits in the USA are required to have a governing board, and as such, their behavior and preferences are inherently worthy of understanding by nonprofit and organizational researchers (Miller et al., 1988). A variety of scholars, including Houle (1989), Carver (2006, Herman and Renz (2000), Aggarwal et al. (2012) and Heemskerk et al. (2015), have argued and/or demonstrated that board structures and governance behaviors are linked to organizational performance in the nonprofit sector. Delagardelle (2008), and Gabris and Nelson (2013) have similarly demonstrated the link between effective governing boards and organizational performance in the public sector. ...
... The presented models demonstrate that, in the case of nonprofit Minnesota charter schools, there is a relationship between the distribution of governance responsibilities in key governance Charter school performance areas and hard measures of organizational performance. The presence of a relationship in and of itself reinforces previous findings in the nonprofit literature linking governance to nonprofit performance (Herman and Renz, 2000;2004;Brown, 2007). Further, the emphasis on the distribution of responsibility between the board and executive works toward addressing Cornforth's (2012) call for looking beyond the board alone when studying governance and its impacts. ...
Purpose
In this paper we use original data collected from school board members representing nonprofit charter schools in the state of Minnesota to examine the relationship between the distribution of board-executive governance responsibilities and the performance of organizations operating as part of a New Public Management style macro-governance reform.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of survey data collected from Minnesota charter school board members and hard performance data is utilized in two OLS regression models to predict the link between organizational governance and school performance.
Findings
We find that boards can improve hard measures of organizational performance by shifting responsibility of day-to-day operations closer to the executive, and public advocacy duties closer to the board. The results build on the existing literatures on school board governance and board-executive relations. Overall, the findings suggest the existence of an ideal balance between board-executive governance responsibilities in key functional areas on charter school boards.
Originality/value
Though a healthy literature exists regarding the value of charter schools, very few studies have actually explored the way in which these organizations are governed. Our study is the first to link charter board governance responsibilities to performance.
... We attempt to fill these research gaps by turning to the nonprofit literature in which the connection between board governance and nonprofit behavior and accountability is more developed (Brown, 2005;Drucker, 1990;Heemskerk, Heemskerk, & Wats, 2015;Herman & Renz, 2000). Given the prominent policy debate over accountability in the area of nonprofit charter schools (see Miron & Nelson, 2002;Ravitch, 2010), we place specific focus on the topic of nonprofit charter school accountability. ...
... As stated, the nonprofit board literature also focuses on the vital role that boards play in creating legitimacy for nonprofit organizations (Brown, 2005;Herman & Renz, 2000). Nonprofit boards, in theory, can serve as the link between organizations and their stakeholders. ...
In this article, we use originally collected survey data to determine how nonprofit charter school board members in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota define accountability. We find that charter board members generally define accountability downward toward student achievement and staff performance, inward toward board performance, or upward toward authorizer compliance. We use the results of the survey to make a series of public policy recommendations to help charter school boards look outward in their accountability orientation as a means of addressing the calls for increased public accountability for the charter school sector. The results add practical value to policy discussions regarding charter school accountability and theoretical value to scholars studying public and nonprofit governance reforms.
... Indeed, previous research by the authors (Ford & Ihrke, 2015) and others (Grissom, 2014) demonstrated that school board governance can, under the right circumstances, have an impact on the academic performance of school districts. Other research by Svara (1990), Herman and Renz (2000;, and Brown (2007) similarly suggests and/or demonstrates a link between board governance and the performance of public and nonprofit organizations. However, research linking governance to performance, while explanatory in nature, does not prove the worth or existence of a comprehensive governance model. ...
... This study is exploratory in nature. While we hypothesize based on our previous work (Ford & Ihrke, 2015) and the work of Herman and Renz (2000;, Brown (2007) and Grissom (2014) that board members reporting the use of different models have variation in their board dynamics and performance, little research exists to determine exactly how we should expect those variables to vary across models. In addition, because we allow survey respondents to pick the language that best describes how their board goes about making decisions, the results should not be seen as an indictment or celebration of any specific governance model but rather an indicator of determinants and impacts of the perceived governance behaviors of school boards in our dataset. ...
In this article, the authors apply Mel Gill’s (2002) description of governance model types to a national sample of school board members in the United States. The authors find that the majority of school board members take a policy-driven approach to board governance, while a substantial percentage take a traditional approach that delegates clear authority to the organization executive. Multinomial-logistic regression analysis and a series of analysis of variance tests are used to identify the structural and group dynamic differences between difference governance model types. The authors find that governance models have an impact on the group dynamics of organizations and that board approaches to governance differ substantially by area, concluding that future studies of governance models should consider the differences in governance strategies across functional areas.
... Evaluation was the area where most boards can improve, in collective board appraisals and assessment of individual board members. In prior studies board self-evaluation was found to be one of the three practices where boards that were judged to be more effective scored significantly higher than those thought to be least effective (Herman & Renz, 2000). The level of compliance found in this study is far below the 34% of organizations that Brown (2007) found did not use any evaluation practices. ...
This study examined a cross-section of operating nonprofits to understand what governance policies they utilize and compare these policies and practices to those recommended in the literature. The study was based on interviews of 18 board members of nonprofits in the Tampa Bay area.
... In addition to these legal obligations, previous literature states nonprofit directors also have an ethical responsibility to support the organization and fulfill the mission of the agency (Morrison, 2016;Wright & Millesen, 2008). According to this literature, when boards accept these dual legal and ethical responsibilities and perform their governance role well organizations perform better (Bradshaw et al., 1992;Green & Griesinger, 1996;Herman & Renz, 2000;Jackson & Holland, 1998). ...
Previous literature establishes a contingency-based framework of external conditions, internal organizational characteristics , and board attributes and composition that impact board effectiveness and calls for more industry-specific nonprofit studies to build the field's knowledge of the factors that lead to nonprofit board effectiveness. In this manuscript, we use a national study of nonprofit charter school boards to answer this call. Controlling for internal organizational characteristics and external conditions , we examine how board member selection criteria is related to levels of board boundary spanning in inward, upward, and outward accountability environments. Selecting board members because of their knowledge of the organization, have membership in the group being served and for their willingness to give time is all associated with higher levels of inward, upward, and outward accountability activities. Alternatively, selecting board members because they are friends/acquaintances of current board members is associated with lower levels of activities across all three accountability environments. Our findings suggest that charter school boards may be recruiting board members who can relate to multiple stakeholder groups across accountability environments rather than selecting for members who operate in distinct accountability environments.
... Зарубежные исследования свидетельствуют, что рационально построенное корпоративное управление вносит существенный вклад в обеспечение эффективности НКО [Bernstein, Buse, Slatten, 2015;Herman, Renz, 2000;Callen, Klein, Tinkelman, 2003]. Доказана первостепенная значимость корпоративного управления, адекватного особенностям НКО, для выработки стратегий организаций [Brown, Guo, 2010;Cornforth, Edwards, 1999;Ferkins, Shilbury, 2012], формирования их социального капитала [Newton, 2001], легитимации в общественном мнении и укреплении доверия к ним [Stone, Ostrower, 2007]. ...
В статье представлены результаты первого широкомасштабного эмпирического исследования роли органов корпоративного управления (управляющих советов) в российских некоммерческих организациях. Деятельность советов рассматривается с позиций основных теорий, объясняющих особенности корпоративного управления в третьем секторе. В процессе интервьюирования выявлено существенное недоиспользование резервов эффективности, предпосылки обеспечения которой раскрываются наиболее известными теориями. Такая ситуация связана с распространенностью «лидерского» типа среди российских НКО, для которого характерно совмещение функций стратегического руководства, операционного менеджмента и контроля. Опрос, который представляет эмпирическую основу настоящего исследования, показал, что в российском некоммерческом секторе неоплачиваемые члены советов скорее ассистируют оплачиваемому менеджменту, чем руководят и направляют его деятельность. Сопоставление с основными теориями, обосновывающими функции корпоративного управления в третьем секторе и подкрепленными зарубежными эмпирическими исследованиями, не позволяет рассматривать такой вариант в качестве оптимального с точки зрения доверия к НКО и их эффективности. По данным исследования, существует запрос скорее на усиление ассистирующей роли коллективных органов управления, чем на выполнение ими роли полноценных представителей принципалов.
Вместе с тем выявлен во многом не реализованный запрос на активизацию участия советов в стратегическом планировании, экспертном консультировании и особенно в расширении контактов НКО и привлечении средств. В этой связи можно ожидать постепенного освоения в России принципов корпоративного управления НКО, в наибольшей степени способствующих доверию к третьему сектору, притоку в него ресурсов и их рациональному использованию
Благодарность. Работа выполнена в Центре исследований гражданского общества и некоммерческого сектора НИУ ВШЭ при поддержке Программы фундаментальных исследований НИУ ВШЭ.
... Therefore, in this paper, the efficiency of innovation systems is defined as the outputs to the inputs of the innovation system ratio. Effectiveness is defined as the level of goal achievement (Herman and Renz, 2000); however, different approaches to its definition exist in the literature. For instance, level of goal achievement, survival, fame, etc. (Choi and Jung, 2017). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate the performance of innovation systems by considering two indicators of efficiency and effectiveness. The scope of the evaluation is globally and due to the situation of each country, the suggested strategies are proposed to maintain the status quo or move toward the desired situation for countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is to compare and benchmark the countries in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of their innovation system. The Global Innovation Index report’s input-to-output ratio and the global competitiveness report are used for the assessment.
Findings
The findings indicate that countries such as China, Switzerland and the USA have an efficient and effective innovation system. However, the innovation systems in countries such as Brazil and Zimbabwe are not only inefficient but also ineffective. The findings also indicate that the innovation systems of countries such as Iran, Armenia and Egypt are efficient but ineffective. Finally, the authors can name Australia, Qatar and Russia as countries with effective but inefficient innovation systems.
Originality/value
Assessment of national innovation system using efficiency and effectiveness performances is done for the first time at the global stage.
... This could explain the lack of youth engagement in civil society (Lamont and Pannwitz, 2016;UNICEF Tunisia, 2016;Mansouri, 2020) and increase NPOs' vulnerability. Therefore, a selective recruitment campaign is recommended to avoid a considerable age difference (Herman and Renz, 2000). ...
Abstract
Purpose
Tunisia has been living a decade of democratic transition since 2011. In this new context, the civil society has been fervently expressing claims for democracy and social justice through creating thousands of non-for-profit organisations (NPOs) (23,456 NPOs in 2020 against 9,000 established in 30 years up to 2010). However, this shift seems to be misleading, as only 3,000 NPOs are actually active, indicating that NPOs are struggling to sustain their activities and ensure their survival. The purpose of this study is to uncover the factors hindering NPOs’ activities and survival.
Findings
Two main categories of inhibitors were identified. First, endogenous inhibitors including inhibitors under the control of the NPO (i.e. use of illegal and foreign sources of funding, limited financial resources, unavailability of NPOs’ members, short term planning, conflicts between managers, autocratic leadership, organisational support, activities diversification and organisational justice, leadership and communication skills, “NPO culture”, members’ opportunistic behaviour and generation gap), inhibitors related to NPOs inter-relationships: stiff competition, unfair and dishonest competition, lack of collaboration, trust and communication between NPOs. Second, exogenous inhibitors i.e. perceived unethical practices and image transfer, economic crisis, foreign funding sources and the media.
This study contributes to elucidating this complex circular system of exchange and its inhibitors in a challenging and understudied context. It offers support to Bagozzi’s (1974, 1975, 1994, 2011) calls for uncovering the factors constraining or facilitating exchanges that have an impact going beyond the relationship between three or more partners and the conditions that govern these exchanges. Moreover, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical attempt to support Bagozzi’s (1994) conceptualisation. It also brings an update to NPOs’ data and marketing strategy in a region near the crossroads of Middle Eastern, North African and Western influences.
... This could explain the lack of youth engagement in civil society (Lamont and Pannwitz, 2016;UNICEF Tunisia, 2016;Mansouri, 2020) and increase NPOs' vulnerability. Therefore, a selective recruitment campaign is recommended to avoid a considerable age difference (Herman and Renz, 2000). ...
Tunisia has been living a decade of democratic transition since 2011. In this new context, the civil society has been fervently expressing claims for democracy and social justice through creating thousands of NPOs (23456 NPOs in 2020 against 9000 established in 30 years up to 2010). However, this shift seems to be misleading, as only 3000 NPOs are actually active, indicating that NPOs are struggling to sustain their activities and ensure their survival. The purpose of this study is to uncover the factors hindering NPOs activities and survival. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were carried out using a purposive sample of 32 NPOs members in two main economic and touristic cities -Tunis and Sousse- selected using snow ball method. A considerable amount of qualitative data was produced (400 pages of text). This seems representative of Tunisian citizens’ inclination to protest in the new prevailing political and social context. The data collection benefited from the freedom of speech gained after the 2011 civilian uprising as interviewees were enthusiastic in voicing their opinions.
Findings Two main categories of inhibitors were identified. First, endogenous inhibitors including (i) inhibitors under the control of the NPO (i.e. use of illegal and foreign sources of funding, limited financial resources, unavailability of NPOs’ members, short term planning, conflicts between managers, autocratic leadership, organisational support, activities diversification and organisational justice, leadership and communication skills, “NPO culture”, members’ opportunistic behaviour and, generation gap) (ii) inhibitors related to NPOs inter-relationships: stiff competition, unfair and dishonest competition, lack of collaboration, trust and communication between NPOs. Second, exogenous inhibitors, i.e. perceived unethical practices and image transfer, economic crisis, foreign funding sources and the media.
Research limitations/implications This study has some limitations mainly due to the sample size and characteristics of the selected interviewees. In addition, data was collected in only two regions (Tunis and Sousse). Therefore, the results lack generalisability.
Practical implications The findings highlight the critical impact of the inhibitors under the control of NPOs compared to those out of their control. NPOs in crisis context, could overcome these inhibitors by ensuring congruence between the NPOs’ mission, objectives and activities and designing suitable marketing strategies.
Originality/value This study contributes to elucidate this complex circular system of exchange and its inhibitors in challenging and understudied context. It offers support to Bagozzi’s (1974; 1975; 1994; 2011) calls for uncovering the factors constraining or facilitating exchanges that have an impact going beyond the relationship between three or more partners and the conditions that govern these exchanges. Moreover, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical attempt to support Bagozzi’s (1994) conceptualisation. It also brings an update to NPOs' data and marketing strategy in a region near the crossroads of Middle Eastern, North African and Western influences.
... Finally, public income as a proportion of total income has a positive and significant influence on efficiency. This finding is in line with previous studies (Herman and Renz, 2000;O'Regan and Oster, 2002;Andrés et al., 2006) that show that the presence of large donors (in this case, large public do-nors) favors increased supervision of the organization. These donors have sufficient power to access the relevant information (budgets, planning, reports of each project), and this level of control translates into improved efficiency. ...
This study examines (a) whether nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs) disseminate relevant information for their stakeholders through their web pages, information that after being reviewed and evaluated by external organizations such as the Spanish Coordinator of Development NGO or Lealtad Foundation, allowed these NGDOs to obtain a seal of transparency and (b) whether their level of transparency influences efficiency. To determine online transparency, web pages of seal-approved NGDOs were reviewed to assess the availability of relevant information. This paper uses data envelopment analysis to assess the efficiency using an input orientation. To determine the influence of online transparency on efficiency, an ordinary least squares regression was used. Results show that while increased transparency has a significant effect on efficiency, the level of information disclosure of NGDOs through their web pages has considerable room for improvement. Improved transparency leads to best practices and increased competition in obtaining financing and support from society. To improve transparency in the nonprofit sector, external organizations have created a series of seals to certify that an organization complies with the basic principles of transparency. In addition, new technologies make it easier for organizations to disseminate information quickly and economically. This article contributes to the literature regarding web use of NGDOs to disclose relevant information and analyzing the influence of online transparency on organizational efficiency.
... Individuals perceive effectiveness partially or in different ways. The social constructionist"s conception, for instance, holds that there only judgments of effectiveness, thus effectiveness are judgmental [8]. According to Triscott, [9] effectiveness is about doing the right things to achieve the results. ...
Human resource management and corporate governancest and side by side to determine organizational performance. Corporate governance is the exercise of power and control or influence over a legal entity. The Concept of corporate governance originated in the Private Sector as a result of corporate failures, weak management boards, over-powerful chief executives, and weak internal controls. Private sector is characterized by: lack of segregation of chairman and chief, executive roles lack of audit committee/internal audit functions weak control/override of controls. Now considered a serious issue in the public sector because of concerns about; excessive confidentiality in decision making; influence of special interests; inefficiency in public expenditure. The public sector now has a greater demand for; openness and accountability in government, with greater willingness to challenge decisions. The benefits of corporate governance include: the separation of ownership and control, alignment of the interests of the organization, shareholders, board, employees as well as the community in which the organization operates, protection of organizations as they are important to the welfare of individuals-they create jobs, generate income and income tax, they produce a wide variety of goods and services, they provide mechanisms for savings and investments. Creation of efficient organizations, environmentally and socially responsible corporate organizations, promotes competitiveness and gives confidence to investors. HRM can be involved in the corporate governance in four basic areas such as selection of leaders, designing of benefits and incentives, structuring of control systems particularly board of directors, and fixing of dysfunctional corporate structure. When all these issues are put in place, organization performance has to be definitely realized.
... Hasil dan Pembahasan Herman & Renz, 2000, (Mihaiu, Opreana, & Cristescu, 2010), (Lecy, Schmitz, & Swedlund, 2012), (Shucksmith, 2015), dan (Kruyen & van Genugten, 2017), the other organizations (R. Herman, 1990) (Petersen et al., 2008), (Cooper, 1998) tentang five-stage models for the synthetis process, serta eliminated from consideration yang dikemukakan oleh (Piper, 2013 (Cameron, 1980 juga paradigma goal attainment (Liket & Maas, 2015) serta motivation to enhance several form of motivation that linked to mission (Rainey & Steinbauer, 1999), bureaucratic effectiveness on perceived mission (Wolf, 1993 ...
Penelitian ini mengkaji berbagai permasalahan pembangunan yang mencakup potret minimnyapartisipasi masyarakat desa dalam aktivitas perencanaan, alokasi sumber daya, pelaksanaan maupunpengawasannya. Dalam eksistensinya, problem pembangunan desa juga terjadi pada desa pesisir disekitar wilayah perbatasan dan terluar Indonesia, sehingga secara signifikan menginterpretasikannyasebagai inefektivitas pembangunan desa pesisir yang memotivasi dan menarik minat perhatian parapeneliti di Indonesia. Berbagai penelitian banyak dilakukan, namun belum ditemukan penelitian yangmemetakan pemikiran tentang efektivitas pembangunan desa pesisir secara sistematis (Riset Indeks,Inklusif Filtrasi dan Pemetaan). Studi ini mempergunakan pendekatan kualitatif dan secara teknis datayang dikumpulkan melalui filtrasi atau screening of paper terhadap 99 topik penelitian yang relevan danselanjutnya dianalisis menggunakan teknik systematic literature review yang menghasilkan diskusi danbahasan agregasi tentang arah penelitian kontemplatif yang dilakukan melalui analisis sistematisterhadap 21 topik penelitian terindeks yang telah dikumpulkan menggunakan teknik screening of papersdan dikelompokkan berdasarkan klasifikasi tertentu. Hasil analisis data penelitian inklusif secarasistematis, menjelaskan bahwa letak penelitian yang concern terhadap proses membangun desa secaraefektif mencakup perilaku agen pembangunan desa pesisir saat ini masih minim sehingga memerlukanupaya pngukuran keberhasilan proses pembangunan yang tepat bagi desa pesisir.
... This list continues to evolve: BoardSource updated its "Ten Responsibilities" document in 2015, calling for a greater focus on advocacy. Adding other current literature, both practitioner and scholarly, boards are expected to screen members for qualifications (Lakey, Hughes, & Flynn, 2004;Van Puyvelde, Caers, Du Bois, & Jegers, 2012), recruit for diverse skills and perspectives (Brown, 2002;Erhardt, Werbel, & Shrader, 2003;Gazley, Chang, & Bingham, 2010), assure healthy turnover by operating under term limits (Bradshaw, Murray, & Wolpin, 1992), educate themselves (BoardSource, 2012;Brown, 2007;Brown & Guo, 2010;Renz, 2013), self-assess (Lichtsteiner & Lutz, 2012), operate transparently (Ostrower, 2007), avoid conflicts of interest (Association Forum of Chicagoland, 2012), fulfill their duty of care by monitoring finances and supervising staff (Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, 2007), align their activities according to the organization's strategic priorities (Brown, 2005;Herman & Renz, 2000;Ingley & Van Der Walt, 2005), be accountable for their actions (Green & Griesinger, 1996), achieve strong interpersonal relations with stakeholders (Chait, Ryan, & Taylor, 2011), and be able to resolve or avoid conflicts with staff or among board members (Bradshaw et al., 1992;Engle, 2013). ...
The study of nonprofit governance is coming into its theoretical heyday by incorporating a sophisticated understanding of its contingent and multidimensional nature. A systems view of governance acknowledges the interplay of internal and external dynamics on board performance. But empirically, large-scale, generalizable data that can test these concepts on board performance have been scarce. This study helps to fill that gap with a structural equation analysis of a national representative survey of member-serving organizations. The results suggest that board performance is associated with complex organizational and labor dynamics, and that performance metrics themselves are multidimensional. Furthermore, not all relationships with strong boards are directly measurable. Some appear related to indirect external market dynamics or healthy internal dynamics such as learning and self-evaluation.
... The results of this research lack reliability because the research method had several weaknesses, for example, the number of respondents was relatively small or there was a reliability problem with the data, etc. Another problem is the lack of criteria for defining and measuring board effectiveness (Herman, Renz, & Heimovics, 1997, p.374) due to the lack of a clear understanding about the mechanism that connects board effectiveness and firm performance (Herman & Renz, 2000). This research is an effort to study another dimension of the relationship between board motivation and the performance of organizations by using Vroom's expectancy theory, which is a theory that has been recognized and widely used in research related to the study of motivation. ...
This study aims to answer the main questions “does the motivation of co-operative boards of directors affect co-operative performance in Thailand, and to what extent?", and "Which factors affect the motivation of a co-operative's board of directors?" The methods used for the study is the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Data used for the model estimation are collected primarily by questionnaire surveys from both Board of directors and the managers from the co-operatives in Thailand. Secondary data is the financial and non-financial indicators of the co-operatives, which were collected by Co-operative Auditing Department and Co-operative Promotion Department. The study result suggests that the motivation of co-operative boards of directors significantly affects co-operative performance. Factors that are found to affect board member motivation include board authority and function, board composition, board meeting quality, board members' skill, transparency in the evaluation and compensation setting process and financial compensation.
... The first concerns the impact of the board of directors on organizational outcomes in the nonprofit sector. This argument is not fully developed in the existing literature (Becker 1964;Brown and Iverson 2004;Herman and Renz 2000;Miller-Millesen 2003). In a comprehensive review of the literature on nonprofit governance, Ostrower and Stone (2006) argued that there are 'major gaps' in our theoretical and empirical knowledge about boards of directors in non-profit organizations. ...
The non-profit sector is a sizeable and highly dynamic component of economies and societies throughout the world. The expectations placed upon non-profit organizations raise fundamental issues such as the capacity of these organizations to deliver, their accountability to the various constituencies that they serve and their capacity to create value. The effectiveness of these organizations should not be taken for granted, and it is therefore important to understand which factors affect their ability to create value. This paper investigates the relationships between the specific knowledge and experience possessed by board members and foundations’ commitment to pursue high value-added activities, such as the improvement of the performance of grant recipients or social innovation. It uses an empirical analysis to apply statistical techniques to a sample of Italian banking foundations. Our results show that, of the various types of skills and background possessed by board members, the managerial skills of business experts are particularly relevant for value creation by grant-giving foundations. The article therefore contributes to the discussion on the relationship between board skills and organizational outcomes.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the framework of hospital governance in order to understanding the persistence of dysfunctions that have caused the deterioration of the image and quality of Moroccan public hospital services.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis of the hospital governance model has used a conceptual framework examining four dimensions: institutional, financial, accountability and decision-making dimensions. This framework operationalization was highlighted through a documentary review of the main regulatory and legal texts as well as multiple case studies, using semi-structured interviews with the key stakeholders, considering their expertise and implication in the governance process.
Findings
The study was able to highlight that the governance structure of Moroccan public hospitals has been subject to numerous legislative provisions and modern management instruments. However, the limited autonomy, the resources shortage, dilapidated equipment, the chronic budget deficit, staff demotivation, the lack of accountability mechanisms have led to the deterioration of the quality of care and, hence, to patient's dissatisfaction.
Practical implications
The analysis formed the basis for a series of recommendations. These were mainly aimed at rethinking the current governance model by setting up an institutional policy to improve the current governance structures and monitoring mechanisms of hospitals, as well as revising the instruments for planning and evaluating the provision of care and services according to the real needs of the population, taking into account the financial limits.
Social implications
The hospital governance framework is proving to be a powerful tool for identifying the problems contributing to sub-optimal hospital performance, and calls for policy interventions to improve the organisation organization and delivery of hospital services with greater patient involvement.
Originality/value
This study was the first to analyse the Moroccan hospital governance model, using a comprehensive and structured evaluation methodology designed for public hospitals and supported by extensive data collection which made it possible to offer a broad and in-depth view of the actual functioning of these institutions.
Community foundations (CF) exist to serve the communities in which they are based. Community indicators exist to measure community changes, outcomes, conditions and progress towards goals. In this chapter, we explore how community indicators can be helpful in carrying out the core mission of community foundations. Recent literature has highlighted natural synergies between community indicators and community foundations, drawing particular attention to shared interest, vision and outcomes (Ridzi & Prior, International Journal of Community Well-Being, 2020). As a result, both the community indicators and community foundation movements and scholarly research in these areas are able to greatly benefit by expanding the field of practice and scholarship through alignment. Place-based philanthropy improves as a field of practice not only with a strategic outcome focus but also when guided by community indicators. In this chapter, we assert that a new regimen of best practices incorporating both the field of community indicators and the field of community foundations is needed. We conclude with a call for a better understanding of the extent to which community foundations across the U.S. and even globally can and should utilize community indicators to carry out the critical work of these organizations to measure and improve community change and well-being.Keywords
Community foundations
Community indicators
Community philanthropyNational Standards for U.S. Community FoundationsCF Leads
The literature on nonprofit governance and boards has grown substantially during the past 50 years as researchers from a variety of disciplines and fields have studied governance systems and processes to examine how they are organized, the practices they employ, and their relations with and impacts on nonprofits. This essay offers a domain-based narrative review of the research on the governance of nonprofit organizations and how it has developed over these 50 years. Building on literature reviews and a Delphi study, we summarize the progression of nonprofit governance research, employ a multi-dimensional framework to summarize and assess the state of the field, and offer recommendations for future study. We find the increasingly multinational and multicultural literature of the field has become more rich, nuanced, and increasingly inclusive of contingency, complexity, paradox, and the diverse theoretical perspectives that will enhance our understanding of nonprofit governance.
This study examines public transit boards of directors' role performance, prescribed activities that facilitate role performance, relationships between the roles and prescribed activities, and characteristics of boards and their members that affect members' involvement in board activities. It surveys public transit boards and analyzes the resulting data, using factor analysis, structural, and stepwise regression equations. The study finds that transit boards' role performance is enhanced by board members' involvement in contextual, analytical, strategic, interpersonal, and political activities, but not by involvement in board educational activities. Additionally, it finds positive relationships between many of the board member characteristics examined and most of the prescribed board activities. Exceptions to these positive relationships are also revealed. Negative relationships exist between the level of formal education of board members and such activities as setting aside time to learn about the organization and discussing future directions of the organization with other board members. Appointment of board members by state governments exerts a negative effect on board members' attentiveness to decision-making processes, and the use of long-range plan priorities in making strategic decisions. Service on other boards negatively affects members' involvement in transit board-related interpersonal activities.
Organisational practices like mandatory practices, management practices, involvement in policy-advocacy-lobbying-networking practices and governance practices are considered healthy practices that contribute to organisational performance. This paper identifies some of the standard organisational practices of NGOs (N = 33) in Kerala State, India. From the study, it was evident that the NGOs were more into mandatory practices. The relation orientation of the Managerial leadership Behaviour showed a higher mean value of 2.8567 ± 0.49331SD than the task orientation. The study unravels the need for an updated policy in the voluntary sector and affirming the role of social work professionals in the organisation.
Previous research lags behind in illuminating theoretical mechanisms that shape governance decision-making on board practices. Using an integrated theoretical approach, I examine how board interlock network and institutional factors are associated with board governance policy adoption in nonprofit organizations. A linear regression model is employed to investigate policies adopted by a panel of public charities in three cities in Upstate New York during 2008 and 2014. Results show that not only the presence of board interlock networks but also central network positions relate to extensive policy adoption. Results also reveal that the use of paid professionals in management relates to institutional isomorphism reflected by more extensive governance policy adoption. These results provide insights for nonprofit leaders seeking to facilitate good governance practices by paying attention to board members’ affiliations and institutional environment considerations.
Underlining the relationship between the public and nonprofit sectors, Effective Nonprofit Management: Context, Concepts, and Competencies, 2nd Edition comprehensively explores of the practical art of forming, managing, and leading nonprofit organizations, contextualizing the changing socio-political conditions and expectations of key stakeholders in nonprofit organizations. Grounded in the practical experiences of real-life nonprofit managers, this thoroughly revised second edition explores contemporary issues that are becoming central to effective nonprofit management, including: An increasing emphasis on outcome assessment and accountability; innovative use of social media; big foundations’ impacts on nonprofits and public policy making; tensions between federal, state, and local governments with nonprofits; and the importance of instilling a culture of ethics in the sector. A completely new chapter on nonprofit ethics and accountability has been added. Each chapter introduces the reader to relevant and current scholarship on the topic, utilizes the language of nonprofit practice, explores contemporary issues and examples, provides practical tips, includes text boxes with profiles of nonprofit organizations and best practices, and ends with a short and practical case study followed by discussion questions. Effective Nonprofit Management, Second Edition will be of interest to practitioners as well as graduate and upper division undergraduate students enrolled in nonprofit and public management courses.
Dieses Kapitel diskutiert unterschiedliche Vorschläge moderner Steuerungssysteme, die für eine gute Corporate Governance notwendig sind. Neben klassischen Methoden, wie der Informationsversorgung durch Reportinginstrumente, werden auch moderne Ansätze, wie eine integrierte Informationsversorgung anhand eines ineinandergreifenden Balanced Scorecard-Konzeptes diskutiert. Die Nutzung von Corporate Governance-spezifischen Scorecards bietet eine einfache Möglichkeit komplexe Informationen, die zur guten Unternehmenssteuerung und -überwachung notwendig sind, zu verarbeiten und neben Shareholder- auch Stakeholderinteressen zu berücksichtigen. Schließlich wird die Nutzung der Effizienzprüfung des Aufsichtsrates detailliert betrachtet, mit deren Hilfe auf einfache Art und Weise die Effizienz und Effektivität des Überwachungsorgans und der überwachenden Personen evaluiert werden kann.
This article examines the effects of board turnover on nonprofit financial performance: resource acquisition and utilization. Governing board members play key roles in connecting organizations with external environments and ensuring that executives properly manage the organizations to achieve organizational missions. They also help in effectively attracting and appropriately utilizing financial resources. Given the importance of governing board members, any turnover occurring in the board should affect nonprofit financial performance. Using insights from organizational theories, we argue that the relationship between board turnover and the ability of UW organizations to acquire and utilize funds is nonlinear (first positive and then negative). We find general support for the hypothesis, which yields implications for both research and practice of board governance and human resources management in the nonprofit sector.
Board interlock represents a phenomenon where organizations are connected via overlapping board members and executives. Board interlock is an important area of research in governance study because of its potential to impact governance outcomes through the flow of information, resources, and status. Despite its potential significance, the role of board interlock in governance has not been explicitly discussed in the nonprofit board governance literature. I review and synthesize corporate and nonprofit board governance literature and link this literature to the study of board interlock. Then, I review the extant literature on the antecedents and consequences of board interlock. I conclude by identifying gaps in the literature and proposing directions for future research.
Nonprofit boards of directors are responsible for the governance of their organizations. Despite a wide literature on board governance, empirical studies have focused primarily on board characteristics such as board size, frequency of board meetings, or board member characteristics. Building on prior literature, we use qualitative interview and survey data from nonprofit board members and executive directors, respectively, to develop a board coaching framework to better understand how board dynamics, in particular staff support for board activities, can influence overall board performance. Our findings suggest the need to recognize the central role executives and staff play in nonprofit governance.
Nonprofit boards are responsible for hiring executives, but may approach the task with limited guidance or experience. Evidence of a board's leadership during a transition is found in their recruitment job ad or the announcement they make about the new executive's appointment. Yet, we have limited empirical evidence of what happens behind closed doors as a transition is initiated and decisions are made. This study implemented a paired survey approach among a group of 94 organizational cases and their board members who recently were involved in a nonprofit executive transition. An initial survey was distributed when the board was in the midst or recently emerged from a transition, and a follow‐up was distributed a year later. Taken together, this descriptive, exploratory study offers insights about how boards face the daunting task of a leadership transition, including what boards prioritize for a transition's outcome and executive recruits, the reasons for the approach they take in fulfilling this governance responsibility, and the outcomes derived from the transition. The findings inform propositions to advance research on board governance at this critical juncture for nonprofits.
Using a dataset of corporate philanthropic gifts of $1 million or more, we examine the influence of corporate donors on the performance of recipient non-profit organizations (NPOs). We find that corporate donors positively influence NPO performance, specifically in the form of higher revenues per employee, program ratios, and fundraising returns. We find little evidence that large foundation or individual donors similarly enhance organizational performance. In additional analysis, we find that large corporate donations matter when the corporation is more likely to have influence over the recipient NPO. These findings suggest that corporate donors provide the monitoring and expertise needed to enhance organizational performance beyond simply providing funding to NPOs. Our results are robust to a two-stage model and propensity score matching to address endogeneity concerns. While prior research has examined the effect of corporate philanthropy on donor organization performance, we contribute to the literature by examining whether corporate philanthropy also improves recipient organization performance.
The impact of the global recession has served to increase pressure on non-profit organizations resources. Executive leadership is an essential component of the success of these institutions. The two-fold purpose of this article is to provide a state-of-the-art overview about the existing literature on leadership and organizational innovation in the third sector, as well as to identify research gaps leading to a research model, which can be used in further empirical research. For this, we used the collection of existing literature in the Web of Science (WoS). The 144 articles selected in the database were analysed using the VOSviewer software. Results show a concern with the renewal of management bodies and a lack of qualified leaders. This study contributes to the construction of an action agenda leading to the establishment of new leadership and organizational innovation model for the third sector.
Board effectiveness is about doing the right things to achieve the results (Triscott, 2004). Forbes and Daniel (1999) defined board effectiveness as the board's ability to perform its control and service tasks effectively. TVET is a major initiative by the government that was envisaged as an occupational field to provide the foundation for productive and satisfying careers and offer specialized preparations for initial employment, including self-employment. However, Kenya has continued to experience challenges of unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation. Although board effectiveness is very important for the success of an organization, the influence of board effectiveness on performance of TVET Institutions is not clear. The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of board effectiveness on performance of public TVET institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. The Population of the study included the principals, deputy principals and heads of department of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region Kenya who were 99 in number. The study employed a census survey with response at 97.5 %. Reliability was measured using cronchbach's alpha which revealed 0.872 consistency. Regarding the size of the coefficients, the study found that as the variables change by 1 unit, performance too changes by a magnitude of 0.501 respectively. The results also showed that the probability of effective performance of directors is significant (p values = 0.000). The study concludes that although performance of TVET Institutions can be determined by effectiveness of the board up to 62 percent of the variance in the respondents scale, several factors which vary in their magnitude would influence performance of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. This study recommends that stakeholders employ the principle of effectiveness of the board in appointing boards of management since it impacts on performance positively. Findings of this study may be used for decision making by policy makers to improve governance of TVET Institutions and other stakeholders for further research. 1. INTRODUCTION Literature shows that board effectiveness depends on the interworking of board structure, board composition and board process. The successful balance between these three elements will facilitate good decision-making for a board of directors to be effective at accomplishing the tasks assigned to it. Bardwaji and Vuyyuri (2003) found that overall judgments by respondents of board effectiveness were strongly related to how effectively the boards were judged to perform various functions. For boards to work effectively, Nicholson and Geoffrey (2004) emphasize that board members must possess necessary knowledge and skills, given the unique nature of their tasks. Similarly, for a board to effectively perform the supervisory role, it should be composed in a manner that enhances the presence of skills and knowledge (Namisi, (2002). Based on an empirical study of twenty-one boards and committees 'in action', which included interviews with close to 200 directors, Leblanc and Gillies (2004), conclude that board effectiveness depends on the inter-workings of board structure, board composition and board process. The successful balance between these three elements will facilitate good decision-making for a board of directors to be effective at accomplishing the tasks assigned to it. The board needs to have the right board structure, supported by the right board membership, and engaged in the right board processes. Without such a balance it is difficult, if not impossible, to have the effective interaction between and among fellow board members and management that is essential for overall effective decision-making. Board membership (the recruitment and removal of directors, and the, ideally, appropriate mix of competencies on the board and board process how decisions are made, including how board members interact) is key to understanding how effective a board will be.
Board effectiveness is about doing the right things to achieve the results (Triscott, 2004). Forbes and Daniel (1999) defined board effectiveness as the board's ability to perform its control and service tasks effectively. TVET is a major initiative by the government that was envisaged as an occupational field to provide the foundation for productive and satisfying careers and offer specialized preparations for initial employment, including self-employment. However, Kenya has continued to experience challenges of unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation. Although board effectiveness is very important for the success of an organization, the influence of board effectiveness on performance of TVET Institutions is not clear. The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of board effectiveness on performance of public TVET institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. The Population of the study included the principals, deputy principals and heads of department of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region Kenya who were 99 in number. The study employed a census survey with response at 97.5 %. Reliability was measured using cronchbach's alpha which revealed 0.872 consistency. Regarding the size of the coefficients, the study found that as the variables change by 1 unit, performance too changes by a magnitude of 0.501 respectively. The results also showed that the probability of effective performance of directors is significant (p values = 0.000). The study concludes that although performance of TVET Institutions can be determined by effectiveness of the board up to 62 percent of the variance in the respondents scale, several factors which vary in their magnitude would influence performance of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. This study recommends that stakeholders employ the principle of effectiveness of the board in appointing boards of management since it impacts on performance positively. Findings of this study may be used for decision making by policy makers to improve governance of TVET Institutions and other stakeholders for further research. 1. INTRODUCTION Literature shows that board effectiveness depends on the interworking of board structure, board composition and board process. The successful balance between these three elements will facilitate good decision-making for a board of directors to be effective at accomplishing the tasks assigned to it. Bardwaji and Vuyyuri (2003) found that overall judgments by respondents of board effectiveness were strongly related to how effectively the boards were judged to perform various functions. For boards to work effectively, Nicholson and Geoffrey (2004) emphasize that board members must possess necessary knowledge and skills, given the unique nature of their tasks. Similarly, for a board to effectively perform the supervisory role, it should be composed in a manner that enhances the presence of skills and knowledge (Namisi, (2002). Based on an empirical study of twenty-one boards and committees 'in action', which included interviews with close to 200 directors, Leblanc and Gillies (2004), conclude that board effectiveness depends on the inter-workings of board structure, board composition and board process. The successful balance between these three elements will facilitate good decision-making for a board of directors to be effective at accomplishing the tasks assigned to it. The board needs to have the right board structure, supported by the right board membership, and engaged in the right board processes. Without such a balance it is difficult, if not impossible, to have the effective interaction between and among fellow board members and management that is essential for overall effective decision-making. Board membership (the recruitment and removal of directors, and the, ideally, appropriate mix of competencies on the board and board process how decisions are made, including how board members interact) is key to understanding how effective a board will be.
The governance of non-profit organisations is complex, as these organisations are not only intended to create value for third parties but also dependent on their donors. When the donor is a for-profit firm, it may be challenging to align and balance the firm’s for-profit interests and the non-profit organisation’s social aims. The board of directors has the main responsibility for supporting and monitoring managers’ decisions so that all perspectives are considered, but doing so requires appropriate information about stakeholders’ expectations. Adopting the agency theory perspective, this study focuses on corporate governance in corporate foundations (CFs), a type of non-profit organisation with a private firm as its founder and main donor. We hypothesise that bureaucratic control and coordination mechanisms between CFs and their founder firms, which are the main donors and consequently the main stakeholders, can increase the involvement of the board of directors, thereby leading to higher organisational effectiveness. We argue that the implementation of bureaucratic control and coordination mechanisms between a CF and its founder firm can strengthen corporate governance and provide the board of directors with the information needed to be more involved; such implementation fosters organisational effectiveness because it aligns the profit-oriented objectives of the founder firm and the social-oriented objectives of the CF. By analysing data from interviews of 188 CFs from six European countries, we aim to contribute to the debate on the role of corporate governance in non-profit organisations under the agency theory perspective. We provide evidence that the implementation of coordination and bureaucratic control mechanisms between a CF and its founder firm gives the board more information and leads to higher board involvement, thereby minimising agency issues and fostering organisational effectiveness.
The United Nations (UN) system comprises several intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) that are established to contribute to the functioning of the overall transnational system of delivering global public goods. However, many IGOs under the UN system are criticized for their failure to accomplish their mandates. Research argues that IGO boards serve as a governance mechanism that should be designed in order to effectively perform the monitoring function to ensure fulfillment of IGO mandates. Thus, using an inductive fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, this study explores 13 IGO boards under the UN system to identify the board designs that are associated with highly effective monitoring in IGOs. Our findings reveal a board design typology reflecting the interplay of the level of organizational complexity and the extent of distribution problem in IGOs. This research contributes to our understanding of IGO governance by underscoring the relationship between board designs and highly effective monitoring to help researchers and practitioners improve IGO performance.
The ability of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) organizations to achieve desired outcomes depends on the ability of leaders to develop and utilize a set of organizational capacities. This study provides insight into the current state of capacity in the SDP landscape and the relationship between capacity and key phases of the life of an organization. A sample of 165 organizations from across all six continents rated 65 capacity-related elements. We employ a multilevel analysis to explain variation in capacity within and across SDP organizations. This allows us to identify the probabilities of having low capacity across five different capacity dimensions (human resources, finance, partnership, infrastructure, and planning and development capacities). Results indicate critical capacity strengths and challenges across organizational life stages, the positive influence of size, foundation and government funding, the role of geographical location, and the insignificant or limited effect of earned revenues and interorganizational networks on capacity in SDP.
Research has confirmed private firm performance as a predictor of executive turnover, but whether this relationship holds in other organizational contexts—especially those operating without a profit-distribution requirement—is not known. For nonprofit organizations, performance monitoring and governance largely occur behind closed doors under the leadership of a volunteer board of directors. Nonprofits are commonly criticized as inefficient, even ineffective, and the accountability of boards and executives for organizational performance has not been sufficiently investigated. This article engages a unique dataset of 998 U.S.-based nonprofits serving missions related to the arts, health, and human services, and uses a multiple-spell discrete-time hazard model to evaluate nonprofit financial performance and the likelihood of executive turnover. The findings provide preliminary support that tenure in the executive office is sensitive to nonprofit financial performance, and in doing so, they raise new insights about the accountability of nonprofit executives.
Organizational capacity is often discussed among nonprofit practitioners and scholars. Yet, empirical research employing a multidimensional capacity framework remains scarce in the nonprofit literature (Andersson et al. in VOLUNTAS Int J Volunt Nonprofit Organ 27(6):2860–2888, 2016). Using a qualitative research approach, we explored capacity in a specific segment of youth development nonprofits—sport for development and peace (SDP). We were guided by three research questions: (1) what are critical capacity elements of SDP nonprofits? (2) how do these capacity elements influence the ability of SDP nonprofits to achieve their desired goals and objectives? and (3) what are the capacity needs of SDP nonprofits in the USA? Findings from in-depth interviews with leaders of 29 organizations contribute to the development of theory on nonprofit capacity by providing a more nuanced understanding of capacity strengths and challenges related to broader nonprofit goal achievement. For example, paid staff, revenue generation, and internal infrastructure emerged as critically more important for capacity in this context. Practical and theoretical implications are further discussed.
Die Komplexität, die die Steuerung und Überwachung guter Corporate Governance mit sich bringt, lässt die Frage aufkommen, inwieweit sich anhand einzelner Steuerungssysteme die Wirkungszusammenhänge zwischen den beteiligten Interaktionspartnern darstellen lassen. Aus der bisherigen Darstellung lässt sich festhalten, dass die internen und externen Mechanismen zur Steuerung und Überwachung einer guten Corporate Governance alle Disziplinierungseffekte umfassen, die innerhalb des Vertragsnetzwerkes realisiert werden können. Im Wesentlichen sollten diejenigen Bereiche betrachtet werden, die Vorstand und Aufsichtsrat als zentrale Organe guter Corporate Governance steuern und überwachen können und dem Anspruch eines Corporate Governance-Managements in bestmöglicher Weise erfüllen.
Understanding board development requires answers to some basic questions. First, do boards matter? If your answer is yes, the next questions to ask are: Is it worth putting in the effort and resources to improve a board? Does board development result in more effective boards? What does an effective board look like? And finally: How do we achieve the next level? What practices and/or processes make up board development and which work best? What are the critical success factors? This article explores the answers to these questions. It cites research that verifies that boards indeed do matter and presents the characteristics of particularly effective boards. A framework for thinking about board assessment is discussed. Finally, the author presents the findings of her research which identified the benefits of board development, its four dimensions, and the critical factors for a successful board development process.
While one of the most important relationships for the success of human service organizations, the interplay between an executive director and the board of directors has scarcely been examined in the field of human services. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the board of directors on well-being and burnout among executive directors. This study found that when the board of directors was perceived as interfering, the executive director was likely to report less of a sense of well-being and more frequent burnout. Conversely, when the board of directors was perceived as an enhancement, executive director sense of well-being was higher and burnout lower.
Philanthropy serves both instrumental and expressive purposes in nonprofit organizations. For donors, prospective donors, volunteers, and community members at large, fundraising presents an opportunity to engage one&;#x00027;s personal philanthropy. It is through philanthropy that individuals express their values, believes, and hopes for the future. For organizations, fundraising is an opportunity to engage its supporters in its mission. The manager of a nonprofit organization must understand the role that philanthropy plays in the organization and in society at large. Organizations typically have four different uses for funds: ongoing operations; special projects; major equipment or facility updates; and to add to their endowments. Individuals, foundations, and corporations all may be prospective donors for operating, project, and capital funds. Ethical behavior toward donors is an important organizational responsibility. Two organizational issues have a direct impact on fundraising success: the engagement of the board of directors and other volunteers; and understanding fundraising costs.
This study explores which governance practices nonprofit leaders consider necessary to avoid organizational crises. Further, it explores whether these leadership mental models of crisis resistance depend on the organizational context. This helps determine whether practical learning points are organization specific or can be applied broadly. With a multilevel sample of 304 leaders from 44 Belgian nongovernmental development organizations, an exploratory path analysis reveals that nonprofit leaders consider continuous improvement, as a governance practice, particularly relevant for effective organizational crisis resistance. A multilevel analysis also shows that variations in leadership mental models cannot be explained by the organizational variables used in this study (organizational size, leadership group size, operational activities, and languages in the leadership group). This article concludes with a discussion of consequences for further research.
The contribution of board structure and process dynamics to organiza tional and board effectiveness is the focus of this article. Based on data collected from a cross section of Canadian nonprofit organizations, the results show a positive association between the perception of board effec tiveness and the use of many of the most widely advocated prescriptions on how a nonprofit board of directors should operate. However, when objective indicators of organizational performance are examined, the link between performance and board behaviors is found to be more limited.
Attention to the subject of organizational effectiveness has been increasing in the last several years as popular management books have extolled management excellence, almost two million jobs have been lost due to poor U.S. competitiveness, and economic conditions have put pressure on organizations to become more accountable with their resources. However, despite its popularity, much confusion continues in the organizational literature regarding the definition, circumscription, and appropriate criteria for assessing effectiveness. In this paper, I summarize what areas are becoming consensual among most writers on effectiveness, and I point out continuing areas of disagreement and conflict. The five statements summarizing consensual characteristics of effectiveness and the three statements summarizing areas of continuing conflict point out that agreement about effectiveness is mainly an agreement to disagree. Conflicts center mainly on the incompatibility and inappropriateness of commonly selected criteria. The main theme of the paper, however, is a discussion of an inherent, but largely ignored, characteristic of effectiveness in organizations---the paradoxical nature of effectiveness criteria. This discussion illustrates that the most effective organizations are also those characterized by paradoxes---i.e., contradictions, simultaneous opposites, and incompatibilities. Taking account of this characteristic helps explain one reason why so much confusion and disagreement continues to surround effectiveness, and it uncovers a new set of research questions that can guide future investigations. Some suggestions are provided for how research on paradoxes in effectiveness might be pursued in the future.
Nonprofit organizations are increasingly resembling private firms in a transformation bringing with it a shift in financial dependence from charitable donation to commercial sales activity. This book, first published in 1998, examines the reasons and consequences of the mimicry of private firms by fundraising nonprofits. User fees and revenue from 'ancillary' activities are mushrooming, with each having important side effects: pricing out of the market certain target groups; or distracting the nonprofit from its central mission. The authors focus first on issues that apply to nonprofits generally: the role of competition, analysis of nonprofit organization behavior, the effects of distribution goals and differential taxation of nonprofit and for-profit activity revenue, the effects of changes in donations on commercial activity, and conversions of nonprofits to for-profits. They then turn to specific industries: hospitals, universities, social service providers, zoos, museums, and public broadcasting. The book concludes with recommendations for research and for public policy toward nonprofits.
In some ways, the title of this chapter is misleading, for we are well aware of the challenges inherent in measuring performance in nonprofit organizations. It is time to deal with the challenges directly. Young, Bania, and Bailey succinctly summarized the reasons for the task before us: “Having inherited from the 1980s a legacy of a full and growing agenda of social problems, and a stringent fiscal environment of restricted government funding and fierce competition for private contributions, nonprofits have now been challenged where it hurts most—their very integrity has been called into question” (1996, p. 347). Funders are under increasing pressure to demonstrate results from their resource allocation decisions; the public wants to know what outcomes justify inflated nonprofit executive salaries and fund-raising costs; and those who run nonprofits are beginning to realize that “doing good” must be measurable.
The subject of organizational effectiveness in nonprofit organizations, although controversial, remains important to both practitioners and researchers. In spite of this, the empirical research on the subject has never been comprehensively reviewed. This article reviews empirical studies of nonprofit effectiveness from the past 20 years. The review reveals that researchers have conceptualized effectiveness in a variety of ways and that the research objectives pursued in the study of effectiveness have changed over time. The review also shows that much recent research has employed an emergent or social constructionist approach to effectiveness that emphasizes issues of process over measurement.
The Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ) was developed to assess board performance in six areas that previous research has shown to characterize highly effective boards. Data from 623 board members in 34 nonprofit organizations were used to examine this instrument's reliability, validity, and sensitivity, including the relationship between board scores and selected indicators of the organization's financial performance. Results indicate that the BSAQ is a sound and useful tool for evaluating board performance.
Several critical factors, including demographic trends and shifts in public policy, promise to alter the balance between public, nonprofit, and proprietary provision of human services in the years ahead.
Based on the social constructionism perspective and a multiple constituency model, this study investigates stakeholder judgments of nonprofit charitable organization effectiveness. The study also uses a Delphiprocess to identify criteria that some practitioner-experts regard as objective indicators of effectiveness. Data on various stakeholder judgments of organizational effectiveness and on the objective indicators were collected for a sample of 64 organizations, allowing for examination of the extent to which stakeholder judgments are consistent and for examination of the extent to which judgments are related to objective indicators. Among the major results of the study are that practitioner-experts define objective effectiveness as employing correct procedures; stakeholders frequently vary substantially in their judgments of the effectiveness of the same organization; stakeholder judgments of effectiveness seldom are related to objective (correct procedures) effectiveness; and different types of stakeholders use some of the same - most notably, board effectiveness - as well as different bases for making effectiveness judgments. Conclusions and implications are discussed.
Using the human resource (HR) subunit as the focus for assessment, several core postulates of the multiple constituency model of effectiveness were examined empirically. Results supported the theoretical efficacy of the model. First, the relevant constituencies reported by the HR subunits were conceptually meaningful. Second, the subunit's effectiveness was influenced by both its adaptive responses, such as the use of human resource committees and control of employee absenteeism, and environmental context variables, such as assistance from corporate human resource groups and heterogeneity in the demographics of the constituents. Third, different adaptive response variables were associated with the effectiveness assessment of different constituencies, supporting the key postulate that effectiveness models of multiple constituencies are nonequivalent. The paper concludes with many suggestions for future research and conceptual extensions to the multiple-constituency model.
The increasing recognition of the public nature of nonprofit organizations and the changing relationships between governments and nonprofit organizations provide the context for, and underline the importance of, understanding effective executive leadership in such organizations. A study of 50 nonprofit organization chief executives revealed that reputationally effective executives engaged in more reported leadership behaviors in relationship to their boards of directors than executives not so reputed. No difference was found in reported leadership behaviors directed at staff. The results suggest that “board-regarding behaviors” are an important and distinct cluster of skills for effective leadership by nonprofit chief executives. The results are consistent with a resource-dependence perspective, and the authors argue that effective executives work with and through their boards in order to affect the constraints and dependencies in the nonprofit organization's environment.
This article draws from the general literature on organizational effectiveness and the specialized literature on nonprofit organizational effectiveness to advance six theses about the effectiveness of public benefit charitable nonprofit organizations (NPOs). (a) Nonprofit organizational effectiveness is always a matter of comparison. (b) Nonprofit organizational effectiveness is multidimensional and will never be reducible to a single measure. (c) Boards of directors make a difference in the effectiveness of NPOs, but how they do this is not clear. (d) More effective NPOs are more likely to use correct management practices. (e) Nonprofit organizational effectiveness is a social construction. (f) Program outcome indicators as measures of NPO effectiveness are limited and can be dangerous. The article concludes by considering three possible futures for NPO effectiveness research.
This article describes a response—called Total Activities Analysis (TAA)—to the problem of defining the role of boards. TAA places the board's role within the context of all the activities carried out by a voluntary or nonprofit agency. The distinctive features of the TAA approach to defining the board role are the following: (1) it is analytical and exploratory rather than prescriptive, and (2) it considers the role of boards in relation to other roles within agencies. Both paid staff and board members have found TAA to be a useful practical tool.
The degree to which strategic action is related to changes in the perceived uncertainty of income from major types of funders was examined for a panel of nonprofit organizations. Uncertainty was found to be a pervasive phenomenon. Nonprofits in some parts of the sector reported increases in uncertainty over time, while those in other parts reported decreases. The use of new revenue, legitimation, or retrenchment strategies was associated with the reduction of uncertainty for some types of nonprofit organizations but not for others.
This article examines the tasks and responsibilities of nonprofit boards of directors and explores the relationship between board performance and organizational effectiveness. Thirty-three activities in nine areas of board responsibility were examined through questionnaires and interviews with board members and chief executive officers of sixteen nonprofit organizations serving developmentally disabled adults. Rankings of organizational effectiveness were determined using external evaluators and accreditation surveys. A significant relationship between board performance and organizational effectiveness was found, and the board activities most strongly correlated with organizational effectiveness are reported, including policy formation, strategic planning, program monitoring, financial planning and control, resource development, board development, and dispute resolution.
Commentators on the effectiveness of nonprofit boards of directors usually find them wanting in a number of ways and urge that they reform themselves. A study to ascertain how many boards actually accept this advice and intentionally attempt to change the way they operate also examines what changes boards attempt to make, what provokes their efforts, and what outcomes result.
Executive staff and board members in nonprofit organizations that operate with government grants and contracts often work together to perform important governance functions. This shared responsibility can be predicted by strong executive leadership of the board, a board with highly regarded members, and affiliation with an influential statewide or regional association. The results of our research suggest that the distribution of governance responsibility in nonprofit organizations with government revenues should command the attention of researchers and activists.
This study of sixty-four locally governed nonprofit charitable organizations used a social constructionist perspective to investigate the relationship between the extent to which nonprofit boards use prescribed board practices and stakeholder judgments of the effectiveness of those boards. A social constructionist perspective implies that different stakeholders use and evaluate different kinds of information in making judgments about board effectiveness. The results suggest that there is wide variation in the use of the prescribed board practices, that judgments of board effectiveness often differ substantially, and that chief executives' judgments of the effectiveness of their boards is moderately related to the extent of use of recommended board practices.
Many nonprofit boards have undertaken board development activities, yet there has been little empirical evidence of the impact on board performance. This article reports findings from organizations: ten participated in developmental interventions, and fourteen received no interventions but served as matched comparisons. The experimental group showed significant improvements in board performance, and the comparison group did not. Lessons from the study include a number of practical steps boards can take to reorganize governance procedures and structures to enhance board effectiveness.
The increasingly managerial orientation of both staffs and trustees of nonprofit organizations appears to have led to conflict rather than cooperation. A case study of an organizational crisis explores how managerialism has obscured some of the unique constraints under which nonprofits operate and suggests ways of making these constraints more salient.
In recent years, government's primary response to the emergent problems of homelessness, hunger, child abuse, health care, and AIDS has been generated through nonprofit agencies funded by taxpayer money. As part of the widespread movement for privatization, these agencies represent revolutionary changes in the welfare state. Steven Smith and Michael Lipsky demonstrate that this massive shift in funds has benefits and drawbacks. Given the breadth of government funding of nonprofit agencies, this first study of the social, political, and organizational effects of this service strategy is an essential contribution to the current raging debates on the future of the welfare state.
Reviews of this book:
"An insightful analysis of the implications of an important, broad trend of the past thirty years in the social welfare policy of the United States and many other countries...[Smith and Lipsky] demonstrate that we do not have to read about other countries to find a comparative perspective that sheds light on the choices we face in our national health care debate." --Bradford H. Gray, Health Affairs
"The most comprehensive account we have of the history, extent, nature, and meaning of delivering social services that are paid for by government and delivered through nonprofit organizations." --H. Brinton Milward, Public Administration Review
"An interesting, absorbing, and important book." --William T. Gormley, Jr., American Political Science Review
"An important contribution to welfare state scholarship." --Kirsten A. Gronbjerg, Contemporary Sociology
What is the relationship between public sector agencies and nonprofit service providers? In light of the increasing sharing of responsibilities between nonprofits and public agencies, Judith Saidel explores how participants in the relationship perceive the nature of their association. Using a resource dependence framework, Saidel interviewed nonprofit and state agency managers in New York State who worked together in four distinct service areas (arts, health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and human service). Her analysis indicates strong and symmetrical interdependence across sectors and service areas. The implications of these findings are briefly discussed as well as the need for more research on the nature of the interactions between state agencies and nonprofit service providers.
Too often, the board of a nonprofit organization is little more than a collection of high-powered people engaged in low-level activities. But that can change, the authors say, if trustees are willing to discover and take on the new work of the board. When they perform the new work, a board's members can significantly advance the institution's mission and long-term welfare. Doing the new work requires a board to engage in new practices. First, the board must go beyond rubber-stamping management's proposals and find out what issues really matter to the institution. It can do that by making the CEO paint the big picture of the organization's strategic concerns, by understanding key stakeholders, by consulting experts, and by deciding what needs to be measured in order to judge the institution's performance. Second, a board doing the new work must take action: the board must not only set policy but also work with management to implement it. Third, the board must go beyond strictly functional organization: the new work requires flexibility and encourages ad hoc arrangements. Finally, board meetings--where boards underperform most visibly--should be driven by goals, not by processes. The authors give many examples of boards that have successfully embraced the new work. The stakes are high: if boards demonstrate that they can change effectively, the professional staff at the institutions they serve just may follow suit.
This article examines changes in the influence of several key actors (state and university officials, board members, and hospital and medical school administrators) in management and policy decisions for university hospitals (UHs). We propose that the decreasing influence of external actors in UH decision making and the increasing influence of UH and medical school actors as well as UH-medical school goal consensus will be related to higher levels of UH performance. Data are drawn from a national sample of 52 UHs that participated in a study of UH decision making in 1981 and 1985. Results indicate that state and university actors lost influence in UH policy decisions between 1981 and 1985, while actors internal to academic health centers (AHCs) gained influence in such decisions. The data indicate a similar trend, although not as strong, regarding influence in UH management decisions. Results from regression analyses indicate that decreasing levels of external influence on UH decision making are related to UH effectiveness, but increasing levels of AHC influence and goal consensus have weak or inconsistent relationships with UH effectiveness. Implications for improving the performance of UHs are discussed.
Decision making, goal consensus and effectiveness in university hospitals
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- R Munson
D'Aunno, T. A., Hooijberg, R., & Munson, F. C. (1991). Decision making, goal consensus and effectiveness in university hospitals. Hospital and Health Service Administration, 36, 505-523.
Enterprising nonprofits
- J G Dees
Dees, J. G. (1998a), Enterprising nonprofits. Harvard Business Review, 76, 55-67.
The meaning of "social entrepreneurship
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Dees, J. G. (1998b). The meaning of "social entrepreneurship." Working paper published by Kauffman
Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Kansas City, MO.
Community agency boards of directors: Viability and vestigiality, substance and symbol
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Fink, J. (1989). Community agency boards of directors: Viability and vestigiality, substance and symbol. In R. D. Herman & J. Van Til (Eds.), Nonprofit boards of directors: Analyses and applications
(pp. 89-117). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
Executive leadership in nonprofit organizations: New strategies for shaping executive-board dynamics
- R D Herman
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Herman, R. D., & Heimovics, R. D. (1991). Executive leadership in nonprofit organizations: New
strategies for shaping executive-board dynamics. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Self-assessment for nonprofit governing boards
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Slesinger, L. H. (1991). Self-assessment for nonprofit governing boards. Washington, DC: National
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Health Care Trustees-New Game, New Players
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Young, K. M., & Sultz, H. A. (1995). Health Care Trustees-New Game, New Players. In R. C. Turner
(Ed.), Taking trusteeship seriously: Essays on the history, dynamics, and practice of trusteeship
(pp. 155-163). Indianapolis: Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
Herman is a professor at the Cookingham Institute of Public Affairs of the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration
- D Robert
Robert D. Herman is a professor at the Cookingham Institute of Public Affairs of the Bloch
School of Business and Public Administration, University of Missouri at Kansas City. His
research on nonprofit organizational leadership and governance has been published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Voluntas.
Renz is director of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership and associate professor at the Cookingham Institute of Public Affairs of the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration
- O David
David O. Renz is director of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership and associate professor at the Cookingham Institute of Public Affairs of the Bloch School of Business and Public
Administration, University of Missouri at Kansas City. His research on nonprofit organizational
leadership and governance has been published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly,
Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Strategic Governance.