From Market to State Networking: The Case of a Norwegian Voluntary Organization

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and explain how a Norwegian voluntary, faith-based organisation called the Gospel Centre of Norway (Pinsevennenes Evangeliesenter) successfully substituted "network" for "market" as strategy vis-à-vis the public sector in order to obtain organisational legitimacy and financial security. During the first decade of its existence it obtained a unique position in its relationship with the state, as a separate item in the budget of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The organization operates in the field of substance abuse rehabilitation, i.e. in a situation where instrumental effectiveness is difficult to assess. In such a situation ritual or other institutional criteria may replace effectiveness criteria and impression management turned out to be a successful strategy. Attention is paid to the relevant environmental conditions under which this organizational change of strategy was successful.ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and explain how a Norwegian voluntary, faith-based organisation called the Gospel Centre of Norway (Pinsevennenes Evangeliesenter) successfully substituted "network" for "market" as strategy vis-à-vis the public sector in order to obtain organisational legitimacy and financial security. During the first decade of its existence it obtained a unique position in its relationship with the state, as a separate item in the budget of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The organization operates in the field of substance abuse rehabilitation, i.e. in a situation where instrumental effectiveness is difficult to assess. In such a situation ritual or other institutional criteria may replace effectiveness criteria and impression management turned out to be a successful strategy. Attention is paid to the relevant environmental conditions under which this organizational change of strategy was successful.

Toward a Typology of Critical Nonprofit Studies: A Literature Review

“…These articles make explicit the impact of managerial assumptions and practices on nonprofit behavior. They challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about management, taking a skeptical stance on the transference of management practices from Western contexts to NGOs in other cultural contexts (Jackson, 2009), explore network versus capitalist forms of organizing as a means to obtain legitimacy and financial resources (Angell, 2008) and for serving minority populations (Stroschein, 2002), or reposition evaluation and constructions of “organizational effectiveness” as political acts rather than an objective activity (Tassie et al, 1998). Others point to the dangers of aligning organizational processes and practices, namely planning and change, too heavily toward exogenous events (Salipante & Golden-Biddle, 1995; Wolch & Rocha, 1993).…”

The multiplicity of logics, trust, and interdependence in donor‐imposed reporting practices in the nonprofit sector

“…According to the Norwegian Register Centre, there were more than 85,000 NGOs registered in Norway in 2014. Many well‐established Norwegian NGOs and Norwegian divisions of international NGOs rely on grants from institutional donors, including various governmental and municipal agencies, businesses, and nonprofit foundations (Angell, 2008). The close collaborations among NGOs, government, and business have developed in Norway naturally and might constitute a challenge in the eyes of outsiders regarding the independence of NGOs in setting their agendas and operationalization.…”

“…Angell (2008) examined the trend of Norwegian NGOs’ fundraising strategies to drift from so‐called “market” orientation (i.e., charging or reclaiming fees for the provided services) toward seeking financial support from public‐sector institutional donors in order to obtain legitimacy and financial security. Angell claimed that personal links and networks had been used by Norwegian NGOs to build funding connections with governmental institutions.…”

“…Table 1 presents a list of RAFTO's institutional donors. Similar to the funding of many other Norwegian NGOs (Angell, 2008), financial grants from the state‐aid institutional donors are the major funding source of RAFTO. The state‐aid donors of RAFTO include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Municipality of Bergen (MB), the Ministry of Education and Research (MER), and Hordaland County Council (HCC).…”

Civil Society Organizations: the Site of Legitimizing the Common Good—a Literature Review

“…The second topic is concerned with how legitimacy in one sector or arena, or by certain actors, can be strategically utilized in another realm. It stresses how the legitimacy of civil society can be used by political actors (Koopmans, 2004), governments (Fraser, 2007), market actors (Haynes, Gifford, & Pelletiere, 2005;Levy & Egan, 2003) or civil society organizations and fields (Angell, 2008;Ebrahim, 2002;Oser, 2010;Alvarez, 2007;Suárez, 2012;Suárez & Gugerty, 2016). Political parties, states, and organizations thus can gain legitimacy by being attentive to civil society or using the rhetoric of civil society goals.…”