Growth and Resilience of Pioneering Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: A Cross-Case Analysis of Organizational Histories

Abstract

Knowledge of organizational history is important for recognizing patterns in effective management and understanding how organizations respond to internal and external challenges. This cross-case analysis of 12 histories of pioneering nonprofit human service organizations contributes an important longitudinal perspective on organizational history, complementing the cross-sectional case studies that dominate the existing research on nonprofit organizations. The literature on organizational growth, including lifecycle models and growth management, is reviewed, along with the literature on organizational resilience. Based on analysis of the 12 organizational histories, a conceptual model is presented that synthesizes key factors in the areas of leadership, internal operations, and external relations that influence organizational growth and resilience to enable nonprofit organizations to survive and thrive over time. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal examples from the organizational histories illustrate the conceptual map. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on nonprofit organizational history.

Organizational resilience: Nonprofit organizations’ response to change

“…In addition to streamlined and efficient systems, nonprofit behavioral healthcare organizations needed the ability to assess the potential impact of the changes, and needed to respond quickly without changing their essential function as an organizational system [3,7]. They also needed the capacity to maintain their mission and provide consistent services to their communities while retaining fiscal viability [2].…”

“…Organizational resilience is a complex phenomenon that includes inter-and intra-system dynamics, the exploration of psychological and interpersonal processes, and structural components that contribute to system integrity [3,5,20]. It is a constant process that includes the reconstruction of organizational values, processes, and behaviors [4], and the analysis of vision, values, elasticity, empowerment, coping, and connections on both an individual and organizational level [7,21,22].…”

“…It is grounded in the study of ecological systems theory [15,17], and includes the psychological capacity to adapt to highly stressful long term conditions [13].When applied to an organization, it implies the ability to adapt to internal and external demands and concurrently transform these challenges into opportunities for learning and innovation [2,3].…”

“…In addition to reduced resources there is increased regulatory requirements and greater competition to remain fiscally viable and socially relevant [3]. Organizations that are resilient have the maintain its integrity as a system, re-organize itself, and increase its capacity by transforming challenges into opportunities for learning and innovation [2,6,7].…”

Unintended Negative Effects of the Legitimacy-Seeking Behavior of Social Enterprises on Employee Attitudes

“…Recently, the social enterprise industry has attracted increasing attention. A social enterprise is an organizational form whose primary goal is to address social issues while engaging in commercial activities to generate a profit ( Peattie and Morley, 2008 ; Battilana and Dorado, 2010 ; Dacin et al, 2011 ; Battilana et al, 2015 ). The social enterprise industry itself is not yet self-sustaining; social enterprises must procure necessary resources for survival outside an ecosystem that has yet to be fully developed.…”