Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nonprofit Alliance in China: Effects of Alliance Process on Goal Achievement

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nonprofit alliances have characterized the dynamic of nonprofit sector over the past three decades. While much scholarly attention has focused on formation and outcome of alliances, less is known about process of alliances in emerging nonprofits in developing countries. Using 11 cases of nonprofit alliances in Ya’an earthquake in China in 2013, this study examined the connection between process and outcome of alliances. Our research demonstrates that process of nonprofit alliances plays an important role in goal achievement of the alliance. Specifically, resource distribution and trust building are the two critical process factors. The results indicate that the process factors change dynamically along with the process of the alliance, and that the synergy of the process factors facilitated the fulfillment of alliance goals in emerging nonprofits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agranoff, R. (2006). Inside collaborative networks: Ten lessons for public managers. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 56–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, J. E. (2000). Strategic collaboration between nonprofits and business. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(s1), 69–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, W. E., Faulkner, R. R., & Fisher, G. A. (1998). Hazards of the market: The continuity and dissolution of interorganizational market relationships. American sociological review, 63(2), 147–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beamish, P. W. (1987). Joint ventures in LDCs: Partner selection and performance. Management International Review, 27(1), 23–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, I. E., Cunningham, P. H., & Drumwright, M. E. (2004). Social alliances: Company/nonprofit collaboration. California Management Review, 47(1), 58–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinkerhoff, J. M. (2002). Government-nonprofit partnership: A defining framework. Public Administration and Development, 22(1), 19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, B. (2008). Assessing interorganizational networks for public service delivery: A process-perceived effectiveness framework. Public Performance & Management Review, 31(3), 348–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, B., & Graddy, E. A. (2010). The effectiveness of nonprofit lead-organization networks for social service delivery. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 20(4), 405–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • China Foundation Center. (2016, April 20). Jijinhui zhongxinwang gongkai Ya’an dizhen sannian 20 yi shankuan liuxiang [Report on distribution of the donation of 2 billion yuan for the three-year Ya’an earthquake relief]. China Foundation Center. Retrieved from http://news.foundationcenter.org.cn/html/2016-04/96632.html.

  • Cornforth, C., Hayes, J. P., & Vangen, S. (2015). Nonprofit-public collaborations: Understanding governance dynamics. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 44(4), 775–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., & Teng, B. (1996). Risk types and inter-firm alliance structures. Journal of Management Studies, 33(6), 827–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., & Teng, B. (1997). Sustaining strategic alliances: Options and guidelines. Journal of General Management, 22, 49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., & Teng, B. (1998). Between trust and control: Developing confidence in partner cooperation in alliances. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 491–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., & Teng, B. (2000). Instabilities of strategic alliances: An internal tensions perspective. Organization Science, 11(1), 77–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, G. (2013). The development of China’s nonprofit sector since, 1995. In C. C. Huang, G. Deng, Z. Wang, & R. L. Edwards (Eds.), China’s nonprofit sector: Progress and challenges (3–19). Piscataway, NJ: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doerfel, M. L., Atouba, Y., & Harris, J. L. (2016). (Un) Obtrusive control in emergent networks: Examining funding agencies’ control over nonprofit networks. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2016, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764016664588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulda, A., Li, Y., & Song, Q. (2012). New strategies of civil society in China: A case study of the network governance approach. Journal of Contemporary China, 21(76), 675–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2007). The purpose (and perils) of government-nonprofit partnership. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(3), 389–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gazley, B., & Guo, C. (2015). What do we know about nonprofit collaboration? A comprehensive systematic review of the literature. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015(1), 15409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, B. (2000). Assessing interorganizational collaboration: Multiple conceptions and multiple methods. In David Faulkner & Mark de Rond (Eds.), Cooperative strategy: Economics, business, and organization issues (pp. 243–260). London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, B., & Wood, D. J. (1991). Collaborative alliances: Moving from practice to theory. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(1), 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust? The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 38(1), 85–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, C., & Acar, M. (2005). Understanding collaboration among nonprofit organizations: Combining resource dependency, institutional, and network perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(3), 340–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, M., Guo, C., & Bies, A. (2016). Termination of nonprofit alliances: Evidence from China. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(5), 2490–2513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D. (2007). Economic growth: Should policy focus on investment or dynamic competition? European Business Review, 19(4), 274–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isett, K. R., & Provan, K. G. (2005). The evolution of dyadic interorganizational relationships in a network of publicly funded nonprofit agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1), 149–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing, Y., & Chen, B. (2013). Is competitive contracting really competitive? A case study of restructuring government-nonprofit relations in Shanghai. International Public Management Journal, 15, 405–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joskow, P. L. (1987). Contract duration and relationship-specific investments: Empirical evidence from coal markets. The American Economic Review, 77(1), 168–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koot, W. T. (1988). Underlying dilemmas in the management of international joint ventures. Cooperative Strategies in International Business, 347, 367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mclaughlin, T. A. (2010). Nonprofit mergers and alliances. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Civil Affairs of China. (2013, April 21). Guanyu Sichuan Lushan 7.0 qianglie dizhen kangzhen jiuzai juanzeng huodong gonggao [Notice on donation activities in Lushan earthquake relief]. Ministry of Civil Affairs of China. Retrieved from http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/tzl/201304/20130400446924.shtml.

  • Ministry of Civil Affairs of China. (2017, August 3). 2016 shehui fuwu fazhan tongji gongbao [Bulletin on 2016 Social Service Development]. Ministry of Civil Affairs of China. Retrieved from http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/sj/tjgb/201708/20170800005382.shtml.

  • Provan, K. G., & Kenis, P. (2008). Modes of network governance: Structure, management, and effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(2), 229–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ring, P. S., & Van de Ven, A. H. (1994). Developmental processes of cooperative interorganizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 19(1), 90–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, M. M. (2003). Successful collaboration between the nonprofit and public sectors. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 14(1), 107–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shieh, S., & Deng, G. (2011). An emerging civil society: The impact of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake on grass-roots associations in China. The China Journal, 65, 181–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snavely, K., & Tracy, M. B. (2002). Development of trust in rural nonprofit collaborations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 31(1), 62–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorace, C. (2014). China’s vision for developing sichuan’s post-earthquake countryside: Turning unruly peasants into grateful urban citizens. The China Quarterly, 218, 404–427. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741014000642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sowa, J. E. (2009). The collaboration decision in nonprofit organizations: Views from the front line. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 1003–1025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spires, A. J., Tao, L., & Chan, K. M. (2014). Societal support for China’s grass-roots NGOs: Evidence from Yunnan, Guangdong and Beijing. The China Journal, 71, 65–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • State Council of China. (2013, July 6). Guanyu yinfa Lushan dizhen zaihou huifu chongjian zongti guihua de tongzhi [Notice on Printing and Distributing of the Overall Plan for Reconstruction and Reconstruction of Lushan Earthquake]. State Council of China, Retrieved from http://www.sc.gov.cn/10462/10778/12482/12489/2013/7/15/10269322.shtml.

  • Teets, J. (2009). Post-earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts: The emergence of civil society in China? The China Quarterly, 198, 330–347. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741009000332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teets, J. (2017). The power of policy networks in authoritarian regimes: Changing environmental policy in China. Governance, 31, 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, A. M. (2001). Collaboration: Meaning and measurement. Ph.D. dissertation, Bloomington: Indiana University.

  • Thomson, A. M., & Perry, J. (2006). Collaboration processes: Inside the black box. Public Administration Review, 66(S1), 20–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsasis, P. (2009). The social processes of interorganizational collaboration and conflict in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 20(1), 5–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tulder, R., Seitanidi, M. M., Crane, A., & Brammer, S. (2016). Enhancing the impact of cross-sector partnerships: Four impact loops for channeling partnership studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(1), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valente, T. W., Coronges, K. A., Stevens, G. D., & Cousineau, M. R. (2008). Collaboration and competition in a children’s health initiative coalition: A network analysis. Evaluation and Program Planning, 31(4), 392–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van de Ven, A. H. (1976). On the nature, formation, and maintenance of relations among organizations. Academy of Management Review, 1(4), 24–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (2003). Nurturing collaborative relations: Building trust in interorganizational collaboration. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(1), 5–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, F. (2013). Environmental activism in provincial China. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 15(1), 89–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2013.763634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ya’an Earthquake Relief Social Organization and Volunteer Service Center. (2013, May 20). Zhongxin gongzuo jianbao [Newsletter of the Center]. Ya’an Earthquake Relief Social Organization and Volunteer Service Center. Retrieved from http://www.scgqt.org.cn/Special/2013/ser/zyz/NewsShow.asp?ID=8839.

  • Zhao, X., & Wang, L. (2013). A study on the ecological relations of Chinese NGOs: From the perspective of self-enhancement value. Sociological Studies, 28(1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, J., & Lai, W. (2014). Bu wanquan hezuo: NGO lianhe xingdong celue—Yi Wenchuan dizhen NGO lianhe jiuzai weili [Incomplete collaboration: The strategy for Chinese NGO Alliance—Case study of NGOs’ joint action during the Wenchuan earthquake relief]. Shehui/Sociolgy, 34(4), 187–209.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Narada Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

    Qiang Dong

  2. Huamin Research Center, School of Social Work, Rutgers University, 390 George St, Room 503, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Jiaqi Guo & Chien-Chung Huang

Authors
  1. Qiang Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiaqi Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chien-Chung Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chien-Chung Huang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dong, Q., Guo, J. & Huang, CC. Nonprofit Alliance in China: Effects of Alliance Process on Goal Achievement. Voluntas 30, 300–311 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-9990-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-9990-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation