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2004, Nonprofit Management and Leadership
This chapter discusses a case study of the merger between two relatively small organizations: a local nonprofit arts council and a public county-level humanities commission. As this case deviates from other merger analyses that tend to focus on larger health and social service agencies, the chapter examines how well key findings of the nonprofit merger literature apply to mergers of organizations of smaller size and in other fields. Generally, we find that the merger literature so far provides sufficient guidance for nonprofit managers in fields such as the arts, where merger pressures have only now begun to mount.
Journal of Leadership Studies, 2010
As nonprofit organizations seek to remain viable in an increasingly competitive environment, merger is an attractive (albeit complicated) option. This case study of the largest nonprofit association merger in U.S. history, involving three bowling associations, demonstrates the critical role of leadership in consummating a merger. The case illustrates a number of factors necessary to merger success: existence of a catalyst leader and a nucleus of like-minded individuals who can serve as the impetus for change, sufficient time to accommodate the psychological and practical aspects of merging, opportunities for building social capital among the people involved in the merger, and preservation of cultural remnants that are carried over from the predecessor organizations to the newly merged entity.
International Journal of Public Administration, 2001
As the number of private, nonprofit organizations in the United States continues to grow annually, the competition for clients, funding, and volunteer time also escalates. As a result, some experts suggest that a restructuring of the nonprofit sector is occurring. The increasing number of mergers by nonprofit organizations is evidence of this restructuring. This paper examines merger as a termination alternative that avoids organization dissolution and focuses on the internal and external forces that drive nonprofit organization decision makers to consider merger. Three case studies are used to illustrate the concept of merger in the nonprofit context as a continuum of organization combination strategies that range from consolidation to acquisition.
Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 1995
This article presents a cuse study of merging among nonprofit organizations that provide social and community services. The study sheds light on the dynamics and problems of merging nonprofit organizations, whose espoused ideology focuses on promoting the well-being of their clients. The author describes and analyzes a merger in metropolitan Jerusalem, Israel, and highlights the potential problems that may ultimately undermine its success. This merger is the outcome of an ongoing power and political struggle. The analysis focuses on the organizational ideologies and culture as well as the strategies and structure of the merging organizations. In addition, the author deals with the underlying motivesfor merging, the driving and restrainingforces, and the implications of merging nonprofit community services organizations with other social and human services organizations. HE strong wave of mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations has reached the area of nonprofit organizations (NPOs).
Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 1985
In times of fiscal retrenchment, it is often necessary for two or more public organizations to merge. Not surprisingly, this need is not often met favorably by the organizations involved. This paper discusses reasons why such a response might not be unreasonable if one objectively views the pressures acting upon the organization, as well as strategies which representatives of society could use to make merger a more desirable option for the public organization. It is generally suggested herein that the best actions include rather subtle efforts on the hart of society and the targeting of smaller, less prestigious public organizations.
Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, 2017
Nonprofit agencies face increasing competition for scarce funding resources. Many agencies are considering ways to restructure themselves, often via mergers and acquisitions, as a way to become more effective and competitive. This case study examines a pilot initiative in Cleveland, Ohio, in which philanthropic funders invited and supported nonprofits in the pursuit of significant restructuring efforts. Health and human service nonprofits were recruited into a three-phase facilitated pilot that assisted the agency executive directors and boards in determining what type of restructuring was feasible and desirable. Overall, 75 nonprofits participated in some part of the pilot, 17 of which formally explored a restructuring opportunity within the pilot year, and eight of which ultimately consolidated. The study highlights key learnings from the initiative and the implications for the nonprofit sector in the promotion of restructuring discussions.
International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2007
This exploratory study researches and analyzes the empirical effects of financial levels of government support and marketing practices on the financial health of nonprofit performing arts organizations. Declining government subsidies and increasing competition from non-traditional sources have presented these organizations with unique opportunities and challenges that call for a market-centered, as well as an art-centered approach. Financial health is critical for the long-term success of a nonprofit performing arts organization. Few empirical studies have examined the interrelationships between these key variables. This study analyzes a sample of 63 American professional symphony orchestras employing 20 years of data. The correlations among financial levels of government support and marketing activities were positive and significant, the correlations among levels of government support and financial health were negative and significant, and the correlations between levels of marketing activity and financial health were negative and varied in significance. Causal analyses were less conclusive, but significant causal relationships were found for large symphony orchestras, indicating that segmentation research may be warranted. Implications and opportunities for future research are presented which have potential application for government agencies, academic researchers, and arts organization managers, boards of directors, and donors.
2016
Nonprofit management has emerged as an important adjunct and/or subfield of public administration, largely due to the increasing use of contracted services by public agencies. In the course of this development, the meaning of nonprofit for public administration has been transformed. This article was first prepared for a PAR-affiliated website and a somewhat different version was subsequently published as a book chapter in the source cited below
Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs
There is a robust literature examining financial vulnerability and demise of nonprofit organizations, particularly in the United States. However, much of this knowledge stems from inconsistent definitions of nonprofit demise. Using eight comparative case studies, this study revisits traditional definitions of nonprofit life and death to better reflect actual organizational operating status. Following this reclassification, findings from this study show that certain internal and external characteristics are more important in determining a nonprofit’s operational status. In particular, nonprofits whose missions involve a particular regulation are more likely to close due to mission completion or obsolescence; however, these nonprofits also tend to either reincarnate or expand scope if other factors are favorable. The findings also appear to show that the existence of conflict or competition with an outside entity boosts nonprofit cohesion. Internal tensions, however, are particularly ...
This chapter addresses the following research question: What can be learnt from public sector mergers that could assist in the successful planning and execution of strategic mergers more broadly? In so doing, we undertake a comprehensive literature review across two sector of the economy - health and higher education – by investigating merger dynamics involving public hospitals and universities. Three aspects are looked upon with some detail: a) the rationale for merging; b) the merger process; and c) the tangible effects. The rationale for comparing these two sectors is fourfold: first, they represent significant parts of the domestic GDP in many countries; second, both sectors are thought to be critical actors in the context of an ageing, knowledge-based economy underpinned by the global competition for talent, skills an dnove ideas (innovation); third, both sectors have been at the forefront of policy agendas with the strategic aim of modernizing providers’ internal structures, missions, functions and institutional profiles; and, fourth, universities and hospitals are both professional bureaucracies characterized by increasing hybrid forms of organizing and strong (legitimatized) professional groups – doctors, nurses, academics, etc.
Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2018
This ethnographic study of visionary art environment Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (PMG) draws on theories of rationalization in nonprofits to explore factors that influence the impact of this process on organizations. Responding to theories that rationalization attenuates expressive drivers of nonprofit activity, an analysis of PMG is used to explore and contextualize a literature-derived theoretical framework that suggests variables that may influence the outcome of rationalization processes in organizations. The PMG case supports and adds nuance to a notion that the strength of expressive and rationalizing impulses and the convergence or divergence of intra-organizational values influence whether growing nonprofits are able to integrate instrumental structures and expressive motivations.
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2003
Very small nonprofit organizations are typically omitted from sector accounts, because neither the IRS nor the Bureau of Census collect data on these groups. Arguably, this may not pose a major problem. Prevailing economic theories in the nonprofit field direct attention to larger and more formal service-providing organizations. From an economic point of view, very small and informal organizations are of lesser importance. However, social capital and civil society arguments have focused renewed attention on informal, voluntaristic groups, many of which are likely small in scale and thus being missed in existing data sources. This article presents data from a community study of cultural organizations, comparing small-scale groups to larger organizations to contribute to our understanding of the economic dimensions of the nonprofit sector's grassroots base.
United States Air Force Academ y2 Mergers and acquisitions have been a major force in business and industry but have seldom been studied in government contexts. Many studies suggest that failures of mergers are often related to inadequate attention to organizational cultures and human behav ior. The current case study focuses on a little-reported merger phe nomenon-the government reorganization. It also describes the careful, considered, psychological tenets and organizational struc tures that were key to the successful change.
2007
UMI, ProQuest ® Dissertations & Theses. The world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. Learn more... ProQuest, Coopetition (contemporaneous cooperation and competition) among nonprofit arts organizations: The case of symphony orchestras. ...
Administrative Sciences, 2014
In this article we attempt to contribute to governance research in the nonprofit area by proposing a conceptual framework inspired by recent developments in the literature. First, we analyze the governance of nonprofit organizations (hereafter, NPOs) from different theoretical perspectives, inspired by for-profit, nonprofit and public sector theories on governance. After presenting a governance framework for NPOs, we explore empirically whether its various dimensions are being taken into account by NPOs in the arts and culture sector. Our findings suggest that, among NPOs in this sector, governance is still viewed as a narrow concept where board members are mainly passive, basically rubber-stamping decisions for the benefit of external funders.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 1974
After the merger of two local churches consisting of 419 and 961 members, 118 members formerly from the smaller church and 115 members formerly from the larger church reported their support for activities in both the prior and merged churches, and their feelings about participating in the merged church. Church support prior to the merger did not differ for the two groups. Results indicated that both groups declined in support after the merger, but the decline was greater for members from the small church. The small church sample felt less close to the merged church, less obligated and less welcome to participate in its activities.
Aimac 2009 Proceedings 10th International Conference on Arts Cultural Management, 2009
This paper documents governance confonnance and perfonnance in small to medium sized arts organizations in Australia, where artistic development, innovation and stakeholder relationships infonn the governance activity central to achieving their mission. The key question of this study is whether the governance of large and small arts organizations differs as they balance competing needs in order to achieve their artistic vision. The results of the study provide evidence that size is a critical factor in how boards govern arts organizations. Using material from indepth interviews and surveys, the paper argues that governance confonnance and perfonnance are in a state of constant tension with artistic development, and governance processes are dependent on organizational size and resources.
Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 1996
The authors examined nineteen nonprofit performing arts organizations, investigating the distribution of influence among organizational members, the grouping of volunteers and staff in organizational structures, and the effectiveness of the organizations. The organizations' effectiveness was assessed using multiple performance indicators. The analysis revealed five groupings or configurations of influence, which correlated to the organizations exhibiting the highest and lowest levels of organizational effectiveness. The authors conclude that a variety of structures are associated with good performance but structural dysfunctions are associated with organizational failure, and that members' commitment to an organization's structure is an important element of success.
The literature on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) tends to concentrate on the politics of arts funding or on micro-policy development through individual programs. This article aims to reveal the evolution of agency-wide macro-policy that was undertaken by NEA Chairs acting strategically as policy entrepreneurs in adapting policy goals in response to changes in the political and socio-economic context. This process of policy evolution gradually shaped and institutionalized a triple-bottom line for its organizational granteesfinancial sustainability, artistic vitality, and recognized public value. Through legitimation processes in which the agency and the arts community cooperated, these values became field standards and best practices, a meta-policy that influenced all nonprofit arts organizations in the USA. Using policy documents, research reports, the memoirs of NEA chairmen, and journalistic coverage, this article investigates how cultural policy at the micro-, macro-, and meta-levels interacted to shape the triple-bottom line through the policy entrepreneurship of NEA chairs.
The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 2010
Small arts organizations (SAO) have not been studied in the field of cultural policy and arts administration despite their purported importance. Through a review of the literature and extensive personal communications with professionals in the arts world, various meanings and manifestations of "smallness" across the creative sector are explored, highlighting the significant role of SAOs and their dynamic ecology. Multiple indicators of "smallness" are identified, whose possible combinations can enhance our ability to recognize both the uniqueness and sub-categories of organizations that currently are grouped into a single category of "small" arts organizations.
Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2004
Nonprofit organizations operate in tumultuous times characterized by constrained funding, increased competition, and greater demand for social services. Existing bases of intangible and tangible assets often are insufficient to fulfill service missions. These organizations appear to be responding by joining forces and restructuring to better accommodate diminished resources. Relatively little is known about the reorganization strategies being employed.
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