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The Embeddedness of Nonprofit Leadership in Civic Governance

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Abstract

This study examined how board chairs and executive directors of nonprofit civic engagement organizations interpreted their leadership roles. Leadership in nonprofit civic engagement organizations was characterized by study participants as representing constituents, facilitating participatory processes, engaging in civic governance, and organizing community and developing leaders. Therefore, I contend that how nonprofit civic engagement organizational leadership was conceptualized by board chairs and executive directors was embedded in the institutional field of civic governance. An exploratory and qualitative case study analysis approach was utilized and data methods included interviewing 34 board chairs and executive directors from the population of 17 nonprofit civic engagement organizations within a municipal civic participation system. I identify and discuss four major leadership themes, with eight sub-themes, that emerged from the analysis and present recommendations for professional practice and future research on nonprofit leadership within institutional fields.

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  1. Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Melissa A. Mathews

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  1. Melissa A. Mathews
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Correspondence to Melissa A. Mathews.

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Mathews, M.A. The Embeddedness of Nonprofit Leadership in Civic Governance. Voluntas 31, 201–212 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00139-y

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