Using a sample of 645 nonprofit organizations in Canada, the authors construct and validate a regression model to explain predisposition to collaborate. Organizational factors such as size and type (feminist or not) were found to be related to the extent of formal collaborative activity. However, the strength of these factors as predictors of behavior was amplified or reduced by the intervening perception of the impact of environmental changes. In addition, the perception of these pressures was shown to intensify the motivation to collaborate, which in turn increases the probability of engaging in formal interorganizational activity. This study contributes to the body of knowledge about collaboration because previous research has not investigated the influence of a combination of factors on collaborative behavior.

Executive directors of 351 women's voluntary organizations and 294 "other" (gender neutral) organizations were surveyed to gauge their responses to changing public policy in Canada. Findings indicate that although all organizations are unhappy with the current environmental shifts and pessimistic about the future, women's organizations are more critical of policy changes and their implementation. They also feel more vulnerable and pessimistic about the future. Strategically, they are less likely to adopt a business-like competitive orientation, focusing more on fostering cooperation and collaboration. These findings support evidence in the literature that suggests that women's organizations seek solutions that are more consistent with a collaborative model than a competitive one. They also underline that women's organizations, often serving more marginal niches, have unique concerns and thus respond differently to environmental changes. Furthermore, the data suggest that both ideological orientation and organizational composition may play a role in differentiating between women's and other organizations.

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Using a sample of 645 voluntary organizations in Canada, this study explores the differences between women's voluntary organizations and gender-neutral organizations in their propensity to form a bridging or a bonding interorganizational relationship. The results suggest that not only do women's organizations in Canada collaborate more than gender-neutral organizations, but also the tendency to have bridging or bonding relationships is significantly different. The factors predisposing women's organizations to have collaborators inside or outside their network seems to be affected by how much the environmental changes in Canada impacttheir survival and whether the nature of the causes they support makes them an attractive partner. For gender-neutral organizations the tendency to bridge or bond seems to relate more to traditional organizational characteristics, such as size and staffing efficiency.