Understanding Collaboration Among Nonprofit Organizations: Combining Resource Dependency, Institutional, and Network Perspectives

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 340-361, September 2005

Posted: 27 Jan 2012

See all articles by Chao Guo

Chao Guo

Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania

Muhittin Acar

Hacettepe University

Date Written: September 1, 2005

Abstract

Existing research stops short of explaining why nonprofit organizations develop certain forms of collaborations instead of others. In this article, the authors combine resource dependency, institutional, and network theories to examine the factors that influence the likelihood that nonprofit organizations develop formal types of collaborative activities vis-à-vis informal types. Based on the survey data of 95 urban charitable organizations, the study has found that an organization is more likely to increase the degree of formality of its collaborative activities when it is older, has a larger budget size, receives government funding but relies on fewer government funding streams, has more board linkages with other nonprofit organizations, and is not operating in the education and research or social service industry.

Keywords: forms of nonprofit collaboration, resource sufficiency, institutional factors, network effect

Suggested Citation

Guo, Chao and Acar, Muhittin, Understanding Collaboration Among Nonprofit Organizations: Combining Resource Dependency, Institutional, and Network Perspectives (September 1, 2005). Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 340-361, September 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1992161

Chao Guo (Contact Author)

Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
United States

Muhittin Acar

Hacettepe University ( email )

Ankara
Turkey

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