The Local Embedding of Community-Based Organizations

Abstract

Although social organizations are considered a vital aspect of life in neighborhoods, research seldom examines how neighborhood context influences organizational vitality. This article considers how organizational and neighborhood characteristics influence organizational survival over time via a case study of immigrant organizations in Amsterdam. Using multilevel analysis, we investigate which features give organizations an advantage in uncertain environments and which neighborhood characteristics influence organizations' ability to remain active sponsors of immigrant interests. We conclude that neighborhood context has little substantial influence on the failure rates of immigrant organizations in Amsterdam. We take this as provisional evidence that the residential environment on the neighborhood level may not be a relevant source of institutional material or resources for community-based organizations. Rather, what appears to be more crucial are organizational characteristics that enhance the embeddedness and legitimacy of immigrant organizations among the immigrant constituency and external actors in the urban context.

Live to Fight Another Day? Organizational Maintenance and Mortality Anxiety of Civil Society Organizations

“…For instance, being a political insideri.e. enjoying regular accessimproves the legitimacy an organization enjoys (Halpin & Thomas 2012;Vermeulen et al 2016;Baum & Oliver 1991). Additionally, the signal that political elites consider particular civil society organizations as relevant participants in the policy process might positively affect their ability to attract members and additional financial resources (Hager et al 2004;Baum & Oliver 1991;Fraussen 2014;Walker & McCarthy 2010;Mosley 2012).…”

“…The results are similar to what we report here. Yet, we decided not the included this control variable in the final model as resources and staff size are strongly correlated (r=.57; p<0.001) which caused problems of collinearity.6 A model with age as a quadratic term did not generate a significant impact(Hung & Ong 2012;Vermeulen et al 2016). 7 Comparing with a more parsimonious model, namely the full model without specific competition, we observe a much lower statistical fit, which confirms that this variable makes a substantial contribution to a better model fit (∆AIC=46.5).…”

Sustainability of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations in a Neighborhood Context

“…Unger and Wandersman ( 1985 ) particularly argued that the development of neighborhood organizations reflects the effects of neighboring (that is, social interaction, affective bonds, and neighborhood cognition). Two recent studies in the Netherlands (Vermeulen, Laméris, and Minkoff 2015 ;Vermeulen, Minkoff, and van der Meer 2016 ) examined this relationship using the concept of legitimacy, which implies that the needs and desires of organizations are accepted and supported by society.…”

Organisational legitimacy beyond ethnicity? Shifting organisational logics in the struggle for immigrant rights in Los Angeles

“…Some scholars have suggested that the analysis of organisational linkages is useful for studying legitimacy, as it places a single organisation within the wider field in which it is embedded (Baum and Oliver 1991;Vermeulen, Minkoff, and van der Meer 2016). Others have stressed that networks are crucial for understanding why organisations adopt specific organisational logics (Clemens and Cook 1999), or why certain groups are more powerful than others in public discursive struggles (Wimmer 2008).…”

“…At the same time, organisational entrepreneurs may also discursively employ different types of linkages to gain legitimacy among third-party actors. Advertising those connections may suggest reliability and adherence to certain organisational values and principles (Baum and Oliver 1991), or rather convey support from the community it wishes to represent (Walker and McCarthy 2010;Vermeulen, Minkoff, and van der Meer 2016).…”