The Role of Nonprofit–Private Collaboration for Nonprofits’ Organizational Resilience

Abstract

Growing social, political, and economic uncertainties have shown that organizational resilience is becoming increasingly important for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To ensure their long-term survival, NPOs need to respond to extreme events and adapt their services and processes. The theoretical premise of resource dependence theory assumes that interactions between an organization and its environment are crucial for the long-term adaptation to adversities. The present study investigates the contributions of nonprofit–private collaborations to organizational resilience of NPOs in light of the refugee crisis in Germany in 2015. Findings from a multiple holistic case study design indicate that collaborations of nonprofits with for-profit organizations support NPOs with stability, resources, expertise, and compassion to overcome resource-based, conceptual, and emotional challenges.

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“…Similar to Waerder et al. ( 2021 ) for another extreme context (the 2015 refugee crisis), we found, that pre-existing relationships endured the crisis and were often reinforced. Collaboration facilitated the dissemination of information, exchange of expertise, the acquisition of (financial and personal) resources, and it also entailed emotional or psychological support.…”

“…( 2021 ) or Waerder et al. ( 2021 ) who highlight the relevance of different forms of collaborative relations for recovery and adapting to change. Similar to Waerder et al.…”

“… 2021 ; Waerder et al. 2021 , or Witmer and Mellinger 2016 ) on the one hand shows that it also depends on the type of crisis (or extreme context) which modes of resilience and resilience mechanisms are relevant. On the other hand, different studies show several mechanisms to be relevant also in different (partly extreme) contexts.…”

“…Second, Waerder et al. ( 2021 ) qualitatively studied the contributions of collaborations between NPOs and private-sector firms to organizational resilience of German NPOs in the context of the 2015 refugee crisis. The authors derived the following contributions of such collaborations: concerning resource-based challenges: personnel and financial resources, spatial support; related to conceptual challenges: expertise, dissemination of information, and service expansion; and with regard to emotional challenges: compassion, understanding, and solidarity.…”

“…With regard to NPOs’ organizational resilience, so far only little research is available (Waerder et al. 2021 ). Research on NPO resilience mechanisms in extreme contexts is especially needed (Hutton et al.…”