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Twists and turns of the practice of accountability in the nonprofit sector: the thin line between accountancy and organizational learning
... The rise of audit culture and redefinition of accountability are vitally important recent developments for HSNs (Anheier, 2009;Benjamin, 2021;Mourey, 2021;Shore & Wright, 2015). Findings from this international comparative project indicate differing understandings of accountability, which may be associated with the respective institutional environments. ...
This article presents findings from a study of management practice in youth career assistance nonprofits in Germany and the United States, focusing on the area of evaluation. It was hypothesized that the institutional frameworks of the welfare regime, public administration, and the nonprofit sectors’ origins play an essential role in shaping evaluation practices at the level of operative management. Interviews with managers in both countries were conducted utilizing the World Management Survey in a mixed methods design. Data were evaluated using statistical methods and qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate significant quantitative and qualitative differences between nonprofit evaluation practices in both countries. These results are discussed within the institutional framework used for hypothesis formulation, concluding with suggestions of future research avenues for internationally comparative nonprofit scholarship.
... In addition, stakeholder theory leads to a preference for accountability based on organizational effectiveness, collaboration and cooperation with stakeholders. Such an approach leads to a strategy that emphasizes mission over finance (Morrison, 2020;Mourey, 2021). In this, H1: The development of accountability practices in NPOs negatively affects their financial effectiveness. ...
This article examines whether accountability can contribute to the analysis of effectiveness in grassroots voluntary organizations (GVOs) in France.
Based on recent studies and stakeholder theory, hypotheses are formulated about the negative link between accountability and financial effectiveness and a positive link between accountability and non-financial effectiveness.
The findings show that accountability practices are positive determinants of financial indicators (apart from ROA) and employment of people in difficulty. In contrast, the other non-financial indicators are not explained by accountability practices.
The study points out the complexity and paradoxes surrounding accountability and highlights the risk of insensitivity to it. It thus underlines a specific French situation, close to the risks of myopia linked to accountability. One possible explanation could be the coupling and decoupling mechanisms that allow NPOs to regain power. Given the sometimes-random effects of accountability, producing nuanced theories is necessary and governance should oscillate between equilibrium and adaptation in the face of stakeholders. Finally, this article introduces the risk of insensitivity of NPOs to accountability (i.e. they act as they wish, regardless of control mechanisms such as accountability).
This study thus reveals governance dilemmas, which could be solved through less formal, more mission-oriented, more creative and therefore heterodox accountability.
The French context of mistrust of certain managerial approaches and the development of codes of governance based on a disciplinary vision are confronted with a growing and critical literature on accountability in nonprofit organizations (NPOs).
The financial cooperative model, which has emerged since the 19th century, has undergone several changes related to their identity as well as their modes of governance. Different factors explain these changes: regulatory changes, evolution of initial needs and transfers of certain initial objectives of financial cooperatives to other actors of the social economy ecosystem. To understand the identity dynamics in motion and the different modes of governance, the theoretical framework of the dynamics of identity change is used. It was developed by Ravasi and Schultz (2006), who expand on the concept of identity and propose to define it according to two components: identity affirmations and identity understandings. This theoretical framework allowed us to explore and analyze the dynamics of identity change in the two case studies selected for this thesis. The objective of these organizations, according to their context, is the consolidation of this dynamic of identity change. We have chosen the theoretical framework of accountability to understand the role of participation and transparency in the management of major challenges related to cooperative identity. The problematic posed questions how accountability practices in financial cooperatives contribute to the consolidation of identity dynamics and modes of governance. Our research shows that the issue of participation is very important and is the main challenge that financial cooperatives must take up if they hope to claim a cooperative difference. The case study
method allows us to understand different participation mechanisms and their role in managing the tensions inherent in the cooperative model. The difference between the two cases studied reflects the diversity of management methods of the cooperative organization despite institutional and regulatory attempts to regroup.
Keywords: Financial Cooperative, Identity dynamics, Accountability Practices, Transparency, Participation, Membership
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