Mate or Menace? Exploring Organizational Identity Threats in Nonprofit-Business Partnerships

authored by: India J. Kandel, Alina M. Baluch, Erk P. Piening
Abstract: Nonprofit organizations frequently engage in partnerships with profit-oriented businesses to fulfill their goals and social mission. Although nonprofit-business partnerships can benefit both parties, they are a potential source of intra-organizational controversy and conflict, especially when social objectives clash with business interests. An increasingly recognized risk of nonprofit-business partnerships lies in organizational identity threats. Adopting a sensemaking perspective, we investigate how nonprofit members make sense of nonprofit-business partnerships and how these appraisal processes influence whether they perceive these inter-organizational partnerships as organizational identity threats. Our qualitative study draws on semi-structured interviews and shows that nonprofit members’ evaluations of partnership congruence (i.e., the perceived fit of a partnership with members’ organizational identity expectations) and partnership relevance (i.e., the perceived meaning of a partnership for an organization’s identity) influence whether they perceive partnerships as organizational identity threats. In doing so, we extend research on organizational identity threats (and opportunities) of nonprofit-business partnerships.
Organisation(s): Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior
External Organisation(s): University of St. Andrews
Type: Article
Journal: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
Volume: 53
Pages: 1156-1180
No. of pages: 25
ISSN: 0899-7640
Publication date: 10.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231210780 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{a439985e2c74417fa3723ecc15202f5b,
title = "Mate or Menace? Exploring Organizational Identity Threats in Nonprofit-Business Partnerships",
abstract = "Nonprofit organizations frequently engage in partnerships with profit-oriented businesses to fulfill their goals and social mission. Although nonprofit-business partnerships can benefit both parties, they are a potential source of intra-organizational controversy and conflict, especially when social objectives clash with business interests. An increasingly recognized risk of nonprofit-business partnerships lies in organizational identity threats. Adopting a sensemaking perspective, we investigate how nonprofit members make sense of nonprofit-business partnerships and how these appraisal processes influence whether they perceive these inter-organizational partnerships as organizational identity threats. Our qualitative study draws on semi-structured interviews and shows that nonprofit members{\textquoteright} evaluations of partnership congruence (i.e., the perceived fit of a partnership with members{\textquoteright} organizational identity expectations) and partnership relevance (i.e., the perceived meaning of a partnership for an organization{\textquoteright}s identity) influence whether they perceive partnerships as organizational identity threats. In doing so, we extend research on organizational identity threats (and opportunities) of nonprofit-business partnerships.",
keywords = "cross-sector partnerships, nonprofit organizations, nonprofit-business partnerships, organizational identity threats, sensemaking",
author = "Kandel, {India J.} and Baluch, {Alina M.} and Piening, {Erk P.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2023.",
year = "2024",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1177/08997640231210780",
language = "English",
volume = "53",
pages = "1156--1180",
journal = "Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly",
issn = "0899-7640",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "5",
}