Real Estate Decision Making in Charitable Organizations

Abstract

This in-depth exploratory case study examines the real estate decision-making processes in two small, charitable organizations through the lens of Actor Network Theory (ANT). The analysis looked at the relative roles played by various internal and external actors (including influential non-human actors such as feasibility studies, renderings, budgets, and plans) in these complex, bounded rational and political processes and the resulting acceptable, but fragile outcomes. In addition to helping understand the process of creating real estate decisions in the context of nonprofit organizations, the analysis demonstrates that ANT with its focus on how heterogeneous human and non-human actors interact and come together to act as a whole, can be a valuable framework in examining the socio-technical, political process of real estate decision-making. From the presented engaged scholarship, practical implications emerged that can aid nonprofit managers and their boards in real estate decision-making processes.

Keywords: Nonprofit, real estate, decision-making, actor network theory, charitable organizations