Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Same same but different: managerial influences on organisational performance in foundations and associations

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the last few years the management orientation of nonprofit organisation (NPOs) has been gaining importance. Management is said to have made the organisation of NPOs more effective and efficient. However, the influence of the institutional settings is often neglected in nonprofit management literature. By using a quantitative empirical approach this study investigates the influence of the legal type of Swiss nonprofits on the relationship between management dimensions and organisational performance. The research findings reveal significant differences in the management of foundations and associations. In particular, foundations have a competitive advantage in terms of innovation and market orientation. Whereas associations profit from investing in governance issues.

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

Notes

  1. This applies likewise to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Newer legal forms, especially the limited liability company and the public limited company, are negligible in this context, since most of them are used for the organisation of subordinate or outsourced operations.

  2. Based on systems theory Schwarz (2006) divides the management of an NPO into coordination, decision-making, organisation, leadership and innovation. Because of the historical development of association management, this division appears rather unsuitable for the following study, since the division was developed specifically for associations.

References

  • Aberg P, von Essen J (2010) Isomorphic processes and discursive strategies Swedish study associations caught between civil society, the state and the market, In: ISTR Conference Working Papers Vol. 7

  • Aldrich T (2009) Benchmarking the fundraising performance of UK charities, In: International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 14 (4): S353–S364

  • Anheier HK (2003) Der Dritte Sektor in Zeiten des gesellschaftlichen Umbruchs, In: Verbands-Management, 28(1): S38–S47

  • Anheier HK, Leat D (2002) From charity to creativity: philanthropic foundations in the 21st century. Comedia, Stroud

    Google Scholar 

  • Anheier HK, Toepler S (2005) Definition und Phänomenologie der Nonprofit-Organisation. In: Hopt KJ, von Hippel Th, Walz WR (eds) Nonprofit-Organisationen in Recht, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Tübingen, pp S17–S34

    Google Scholar 

  • Anheier HK, Schröer A, Then V (eds) (2011) Soziale Investitionen. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Badelt Ch, Meyer M, Simsa R (2007) Handbuch der Nonprofit-Organisation, 4th edn. Schäffer-Poeschel, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Balser D, McClusky J (2005) Managing stakeholder relationships and non-profit organization effectiveness, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 15(3): S295–S315

  • Baruch Y, Ramalho N (2006) Communalities and distinctions in the measurement of organizational performance and effectiveness across for-profit and non-profit sectors, In: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(1): S39–S65

  • Boezeman EJ, Ellemers N (2008) Volunteer recruitment: the role of organizational support and anticipated respect in non-volunteers’ attraction to charitable volunteer organizations. J Appl Psychol 93(5):S1013–S1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman HW (2006) Should donors care about overhead? Do they care? Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 35(2):S288–S310

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown AW (2005) Exploring the association between board and organizational performance in non-profit organizations, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 15(3): S317–S339

  • Brown AW, Yoshioka C (2002) Employee satisfaction and mission attachment as factors in retention. Paper presented at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Montreal

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruhn M (2005) Marketing für nonprofit-organisationen. Grundlagen - Konzepte - Instrumente, Kohlhammer

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryson JM, Gibbons MJ, Shaye G (2001) Entreprise schemes for nonprofit survival, growth, and effectiveness, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 11(3): S271–S288

  • Callen JL, Klein A, Tinkelman D (2003) Board composition, committees, and organizational efficiency: the case of nonprofits, In: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 32(4): S493–S520

  • Chew C (2005) Strategic marketing planning and positioning in voluntary non-profit organisations. Aston Academy for research in Management, Aston

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornforth Ch (2003) The governance of public and non-profit organisations: what do boards do?. Routledge, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cornforth Ch, Simpson C (2003) Change and continuity in the governance of non-profit organizations in the UK, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 12(4): S451–S470

  • DiMaggio P, Powell WW (1983) The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields, In: American Sociological Review, 48(4): S147–S160

  • Eikenberry AM, Kluver JD (2004) The marketization of the non-profit sector: civil society at risk? In: Public Administration Review, 64(2): S132–S140

  • Ergenzinger R, Krulis-Randa JS (2005) Innovation als Erfolgsfaktor des professionellen Management in der postindustriellen Organisation. In: Berndt R (ed) Erfolgsfaktor Innovation. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, pp 97–111

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Forbes DP (1998) Measuring the unmeasurable: empirical studies of non-profit organization effectiveness from 1977 to 1997, In: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 27(2): S183–S202

  • Frey BS, Benz M (2007) Corporate Governance: what Can We Learn From Public Governance? Acad Manag Rev 32(1):92–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill M, Flynn RJ, Reissing E (2005) The governance self assessment checklist, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership 15(3): S271–S294

  • Strachwitz R Graf (2010) Stiften, Philanthropie und Venture Philanthropy, In: Hoelscher Ph, Ebermann Th, Schlüter A (Hrsg.) Venture Philanthropy in Theorie und Praxis, Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart, S49–S56

  • Green JC, Griesinger DW (2006) Board performance and organizational effectiveness in non-profit social services organizations, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 6(4): S381–S402

  • Greiling D (2009) Erfolgsmassstäbe für Nonprofit-Organisationen, In: Betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung und Praxis, 61(1): S56–S78

  • Hair JF, Anderson RE, Tatham RE, Black WC (2006) Multi-variate data analysis, 6th edn. Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris M (1998) Doing it their way: organizational challenges for voluntary associations, In: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 27(2): S144–S158

  • Helmig B, Jegers M, Laspley I (2004) Challenges in managing non-profit organizations: a research overview. Voluntas 15(2):101–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helmig B, Purtschert R, Beccarelli C (2006) Erfolgsfaktoren im nonprofit-management. In: Helmig B, Purtschert R (eds) Nonprofit-management, 2nd edn. Gabler, Wiesbaden, pp 351–360

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Helmig B, Lichtsteiner H, Gmür M (2010) Der Dritte Sektor der Schweiz. Haupt, Benr

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman RD, Renz DO (2008) Advancing non-profit organizational effectiveness research and theory, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 18(4): S399–S415

  • Herman RD, Renz DO, Heimovics RD (1997) Board practices and board effectiveness in local non-profit organizations, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 7(4): S373–S285

  • Hirschman AO (1987) Exit, voice, and loyalty. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakob D, Huber R, Rauber K (2009) Non-profit law in Switzerland, working papers of the Johns Hopkins comparative non-profit sector project, No. 47, The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, Baltimore

  • Jaskyte K (2004) Transformational leadership, organizational culture, and innovativeness in non-profit organizations, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 15(2): S153–S168

  • Jaskyte K, de Riobo MS (2004) Characteristics of innovative non-profit organizations in Argentina. Voluntas 15(1):71–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser HF (1974) An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika 39:31–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maier F, Meyer M (2011) Managerialism and beyond: discourses of civil society organization and their governance implications. Voluntas 22(4):731–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzarol TW, Soutar GN (2007) Strategy matters: strategic positioning and performance in the education services sector, In: International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 13(2): S141–S151

  • Meyer M (2008) Paradoxien im nonprofit sektor, In: Verbands-Management, 34(1): S6–S15

  • Meyer JW, Rowan B (1977) Institutional organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. Amer J Sociol 83:340–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray V, Bradshaw P, Wolpin J (1992) Power in and around non-profit boards: a neglected dimension of governance, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 3(2): S165–S182

  • Nowotny Ch, Fida S (2007) Rechtliche Gestaltungsformen für NPOs. In: Badelt Ch, Meyer M, Simsa R (eds) Handbuch der Nonprofit-organisation, 4th edn. Schäffer-Poeschel, Stuttgart, pp 202–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally JC (1978) Psychometric theory, 2nd edn. MacGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne SP (1998) Voluntary organizations and innovation in public services. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons E, Broadbridge A (2004) Managing change in non-profit organizations: insights from the UK charity retail sector. Voluntas 15(3):227–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peter JP (1979) Reliability: a review of psychometric basics and recent marketing practices. J Mark Res 16:S6–S24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter M (1985) Competitive advantage. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Purtschert R (2004) Good corporate governance: Ansatz für Verbände und weitere NPO? In: Verbands-Management, 30(3): S6–S17

  • Purtschert R (2005) Marketing für Verbände und weitere Nonprofit-Organisationen, 2nd edn. Haupt, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson JP, Shaver PR, Wrightsman LS (1991) Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Sargeant A (2001) Relationship Fundraising: how to keep your donors loyal, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 12(2): S177–S192

  • Schönenberg D (2009) Transformation vom Verein in eine Stiftung im Schweizer Recht, In: Zeitschrift für das Recht der Non Profit Organisationen, Heft 3/2009, S64–S67

  • Schwarz P (1984) Erfolgsorientiertes Verbands-Management. Asgard, St. Augustin

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz P (1996) Management in nonprofit organisationen. Haupt, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz P (2003) Erfolgsorientierung in Nonprofit-Organisationen: Zur Konstruktion eines Modells. In: Blümle E-B, Pernsteiner H, Purtschert R, Andessner R (eds) Öffentliche Verwaltung und Nonprofit-Organisationen. Linde, Wien, pp 641–662

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz P (2005) Organisation von Nonprofit-Organisationen. Haupt, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz P (2006) Management-Prozesse und -Systeme in Noprofit-Organisationen. Haupt, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz P, Lichtsteiner H (2008) Management professionalisierung in NPO: Ein Irrweg? In: Verbands-Management, 34(1): S16–S25

  • Schwarz P, von Schnurbein G (2005) Gemeinsamkeiten und strukturelle Unterschiede der Corporate und Nonprofit Governance, In: Zeitschrift für öffentliche und gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen, 28(4): S358–S375

  • Schwarz P, Purtschert R, Giroud Ch, Schauer R (2009) das Freiburger Management-Modell für Nonprofit-Organisationen, 6th edn. Haupt, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Seufert G (1999) Verbandscontrolling: Ansätze einer operativen Führungskoordination. Gabler, Wiesbaden

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Siciliano JI (1997) The relationship between formal planning and performance in non-profit organizations, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 7(4): S387–S403

  • Steyerer J, Meyer M (2010) Welcher Führungsstil führt zum Erfolg? In: Zeitschrift Führung und Organisation, 79(3): S148–S155

  • Toepler S, Feldman M P (2003) Philanthropic foundations and the innovative function: evidence from a survey of university researchers, mimeo, George Mason University

  • Tschirhart M (2006) Non-profit membership associations. In: Powell WW, Steinberg R (eds) The non-profit sector––a research handbook, 2nd edn. Yale University, New Haven, pp 523–541

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Ven AH (1986) Central problems in the management of innovation. Manag Sci 32:509–607

    Google Scholar 

  • Verbruggen S, Christiaens J, Milis K (2011) Can resource dependence and coercive isomorphism explain non-profit organizations’ compliance with reporting standards? In: Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40(1): S5–S32

  • von Schnurbein G (2007) Risiko- und innovationsorientierte Förderleistungen von Stiftungen, In: Helmig B, Purtschert R, Schauer R, Witt D (2007) Nonprofit-Organisationen und Märkte, DUV, Wiesbaden, pp S323–S338

  • von Schnurbein G (2008) Stiftungen als Motor des Wandels im Nonprofit-Sektor, In: Zeitschrift zum Stiftungswesen

  • von Schnurbein G (2009) Patterns of governance in swiss trade Associations and unions, In: Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 20(1): S97–S115

  • von Schnurbein G (2010) Dienstleistungsorientiertes Stiftungsmanagement, In: Rote Seiten, Nr.5/2010, S2–S13

  • von Schnurbein G, Timmer K (2010) Die Förderstiftung. Helbing Lichtenhahn, Basel

  • Wollebaek D (2009) Survival in local voluntary associations, In: Non-profit Management and Leadership, 19(3): S267–S284

  • Young DR (2004) The music of management––applying organization theory. Ashgate, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), Universität Basel, Peter Merian-Weg 6, 4002, Basel, Switzerland

    Georg von Schnurbein

Authors
  1. Georg von Schnurbein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georg von Schnurbein.

Appendix

Appendix

See (Tables 7, 8).

Table 7 Individual indicators for management dimensions and organisational excellence
Full size table
Table 8 Statistical information on financial excellence
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

von Schnurbein, G. Same same but different: managerial influences on organisational performance in foundations and associations. J Bus Econ 84, 251–276 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-013-0697-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-013-0697-x

Keywords

JEL classification

Search

Navigation