Governance and Board Member Identity in an Emerging Nonprofit Organization

Abstract

Organizational effectiveness is a term without a single definition about the nonprofit community; it is difficult to define, much less measure, due to the wide disparity in that community. Inconsistency in the sector leads to an array of hypotheses in the literature addressing organizational effectiveness. Through a comprehensive examination of a single nonprofit organization, this qualitative case study examines the gap between the expectations of board performance by the nonprofit organization's senior leadership and the board members' selfperception of their governance role. The dominant self-perception of the board of directors is that their value as a governing entity is in their willingness to work hands-on in whatever volunteer roles are necessary to sustain the organization. Organizational governance is secondary to this self-characterization as a working board. This lack of focus on formal governance has resulted in a governing structure with minimal development, even as the organization itself continues to enjoy success. The case study of a single nonprofit entity suggests some recommendations for the practice of nonprofit governance in general as well as future research in the domain of nonprofit organizations that are either embryonic or have limited means available for the professional development of the board.

Performance measurement and management system 4.0: an action research study in investee NPOs by local government

“…The literature underlines that each NPO should identify its unique IJPPM 72,4 challenges and define appropriate solutions (Aulgur, 2015) because there is no overarching theory capable of addressing the challenges of NPOs. As highlighted by Aulgur (2015), theories such as agency theory, resource dependency theory, group/decision process theory, stakeholder theory, institutional theory, policy governance theory and contingency theory are inadequate to explain the entire reality of NPOs due to their heterogeneity in size, scope and mission. Mwenja Lewis (2009) underlined that maintaining organisational performance is, ultimately, a social construct that makes the development of a single model of measurement and management of not-for-profit effectiveness impossible.…”

“…Recently, Sardi et al. (2020a) and Aulgur (2015) stated that no single theory or hypothesis is capable of meeting the challenges of the public sector; therefore, public organisations and NPOs must identify their own unique and customised solutions to solve specific problems (Aulgur, 2015; Sardi et al. , 2020a).…”

“…According to several scholars (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007;Yin, 2017), action research allows the study of a contemporary phenomenon in its real context, favouring exploratory investigations when the variables are not clearly understood. Recently, Sardi et al (2020a) and Aulgur (2015) stated that no single theory or hypothesis is capable of meeting the challenges of the public sector; therefore, public organisations and NPOs must identify their own unique and customised solutions to solve specific problems (Aulgur, 2015;Sardi et al, 2020a).…”

“…, 2020). When PMMS models have been implemented, they rarely fit the regulatory and managerial needs of public organisations and NPOs (Aulgur, 2015; Ryan et al. , 2014; Sardi et al.…”

Improving Volunteer Engagement in Nonprofit Healthcare Organizations

“…I selected a single-case study design for this study. Researchers use a case study design with multiple types of evidence to explore a phenomenon in-depth in real-life settings to produce relevant outcomes (Aulgur, 2016;Loosemore & Bridgeman, 2017;Yin, 2018). The qualitative, single-case study design allowed me to focus on the strategies nonprofit healthcare leaders implemented to reduce volunteer turnover.…”