Accountability in Korean NPOs: Perceptions and Strategies of NPO Leaders

Abstract

This study examines how senior managers of Korean nonprofit organizations construe their accountability environment, particularly with respect to the perceived expectations of various stakeholders. In-depth interviews were conducted with 42 nonprofit executives in Seoul and six other major Korean cities. Subsequent surveys were completed by 271 organizations. The interview results were used to construct a survey instrument to generalize the findings. The findings suggest that executives of South Korean NPOs perceive board members, staff members, and government agencies as their top three significant stakeholders to whom they are accountable. Regarding the important question of ''for what'' they are accountable, the respondents emphasized compliance to legal obligations and observance of democratic principles of organizational operation. This study also identified four common components in South Korean NPO accountability obligations: professional integrity, civic engagement, and inter-organizational partnership (civic activismoriented and professionalism-oriented).Résumé Cette étude examine comment les dirigeants d'organisations à but non lucratif coréens interprètent leur environnement de responsabilisation, notamment en ce qui concerne les attentes perçues des différentes parties prenantes. Des entretiens approfondis ont été menés auprès de 42 cadres du secteur non lucratif à Séoul et dans six autres grandes villes coréennes. Des enquêtes ultérieures ont été remplies par 271 organisations. Les résultats des entretiens ont été utilisés pour construire un instrument d'enquête permettant de généraliser les résultats. Les résultats suggèrent que les dirigeants d'OSBL sud-coréennes perçoivent les membres des conseils d'administration, les membres des personnels, et les organismes gouvernementaux comme les trois principales parties prenantes importantes à qui ils doivent rendre des comptes. En ce qui concerne la question importante « de quoi sont-ils responsables » , les répondants ont souligné la conformité aux obligations légales et le respect des principes démocratiques de fonctionnement des organisations. Cette étude a également identifié quatre composantes communes dans les obligations de responsabilisation des OSBL de Corée du Sud : l'intégrité professionnelle, l'engagement civique et le partenariat interorganisationnel (orienté vers l'activisme civique et le professionnalisme).Zusammenfassung Diese Studie untersucht, wie die Führungskräfte koreanischer Nonprofit-Organisationen ihr Umfeld zur Rechenschaftspflicht auslegen, insbesondere mit Hinblick auf die wahrgenommenen Erwartungen der verschiedenen Stakeholder. Dazu wurden 42 Führungskräfte von Nonprofit-Organisationen in Seoul und sechs weiteren koreanischen Großstädten ausführlich befragt. 271 Organisationen nahmen an anschließenden Umfragen teil. Mit Hilfe der Ergebnisse der Befragung wurde ein Umfrageinstrument konstruiert, um die Ergebnisse zu verallgemeinern. Die Ergebnisse geben zu erkennen, dass Führungskräfte in südkore-anischen Nonprofit-Organisation...

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