A Desire for Growth? An Exploratory Study of Growth Aspirations Among Nascent Nonprofit Entrepreneurs

Abstract

<jats:p> This research note examines the growth aspirations, and beliefs about growth, based on survey responses from 57 nascent nonprofit entrepreneurs. About 21% of the respondents displayed strong growth ambitions and 40% declared they do not consider growth a current and/or highly prioritized matter. A majority of the nascent nonprofit entrepreneurs recognized that growth could have both positive and negative implications on their emerging nonprofit. Only 14% perceived growth as a ubiquitous positive feat. Perceived positive implications of growth included enhanced impact and reputation, and some of the perceived negative implications of growth were loss of control and increased workload. Furthermore, drawing on brief follow-up conversations with eight respondents, this research note illuminates how growth preferences can evolve as the nonprofit evolve, and even nonprofit entrepreneurs with clear and explicit aspirations to grow may not have the ability to grow. </jats:p>

Unveiling the relationship between entrepreneurial aspirations and prosperity: An international panel study using GEM data

“…“High Growth is a combined measure of the percentage of high-growth businesses that intend to employ at least 10 people and plan to grow more than 50% in five years (Gazelle variable) with a sophisticated business strategy (Business Strategy variable) and venture capital financing possibility (Venture Capital)” (Acs, 2017). In the entrepreneurship literature, researchers have long linked growth aspirations to real firm growth (Andersson, 2020 ). Growth aspirations are important since they are associated with the subsequent expansion of firms.…”

The Hidden Cost of Trustworthiness

“… 5. Andersson (2020) notes that nonprofit entrepreneurs correlate financial growth with greater potential impact. In addition, based on an underlying study of international nonprofits (NGOs) in the United States, Mitchell (2015) ranks 29 attributes of effective NGOs identified by NGO leaders and finds that higher spending (referred to as large organizational size and resources) is the third most commonly mentioned attribute; Mitchell and Stroup (2016) find that NGOs with higher spending (referred to as budget size) have higher reputations for organizational effectiveness; and relatedly, Mitchell and Schmitz (2012) find that insufficient funding is the most commonly reported obstacle to organizational effectiveness among NGO leaders.…”