Jessica Berrett

This exploratory case study examines nonprofit efficiency by interviewing 36 leaders from Habitat for Humanity affiliates across diverse geographic locations in the United States, focusing on understanding efficiency from a practitioner’s perspective. Habitat for Humanity, composed of numerous nonprofits dedicated to housing, provided a rich context for this investigation. The study finds that while nonprofit practitioners use a diverse array of metrics to assess efficiency, many of these metrics do not accurately measure it, indicating a need for greater education around efficiency measurement. Additionally, the metrics cover diverse organizational areas, highlighting the importance of a multidimensional approach to efficiency assessment. The study suggests that aligning scholarly methods with practitioner needs and promoting a broader understanding of efficiency across multiple organizational dimensions could improve both theoretical and practical applications in nonprofit management. text goes here

ChiaKo Hung & Jessica Berrett

While restricted funding offers advantages, it may introduce inefficiencies within nonprofits. This concern prompts an important question: Does unrestricted funding enhance nonprofit efficiency? This study explores the connection between unrestricted funding and the efficiency of nonprofits, and investigates whether factors like organizational size, age, and commercialization influence this relationship. Using longitudinal data from 2010 to 2016 sourced from Habitat for Humanity in the U.S., our results suggest a positive link between unrestricted funding and organizational efficiency. Furthermore, the findings reveal that this association is stronger for small organizations compared to larger ones. These findings align with resource dependence theory, suggesting that reducing donor influence and increasing managerial autonomy can improve organizational performance. They also underscore the importance of donor-nonprofit relationships based on mutual understanding and alignment of objectives.

Jessica Berrett, Amanda J. Stewart, and Kerry Kuenzi

This study explores the density and capacity of a local nonprofit sector, merging economic concepts of supply and demand with insights from practitioners. Focused on health and human service nonprofits in one community, it integrates economic factors, network relations, and local perspectives to illuminate sector health. The study extends research on nonprofit density and carrying capacity by incorporating secondary data from community indicators and primary data from surveys and interviews with nonprofits. The findings offer practitioners valuable insights into addressing community needs, bridging the gap between academic research and local expertise.

Yuhao Ba, Jessica Berrett, & Jason Coupet

Government attention matters for nonprofit management and nonprofit-government interactions. This study focuses on legislative attention, an important yet less studied aspect of government attention in public management research, and examines its impact on nonprofit efficiency. By employing a longitudinal multi-level regression design and utilizing data from state-level legal proceedings and financial statements from the nonprofit housing sector, the findings suggest a positive impact of legislative attention on nonprofit efficiency, highlighting a complementary mode of nonprofit-government relations. Additionally, this impact is more pronounced among nonprofits that receive government funding, suggesting that government grants enhance the effectiveness of legislative attention. text goes here

Jayce Sudweeks, Richard Clerkin, & Jessica Berrett

Nonprofits are hybrid organizations influenced by multiple institutional logics that underpin the expressive and instrumental dimensions of the nonprofit sector. From these institutional logics and key contextual factors, nonprofit leaders create organizational identities. Many of the tensions that nonprofits experience are related to the incompatibilities between dimension-based institutional logics that shape organizational identity. To provide more clarity on the dimensions of the nonprofit sector and to incorporate perhaps a unique institutional logic we discuss an additional dimension, the affiliative dimension, driven by the charitable/philanthropic logic. We also introduce the Dimensions of Tension Triangle as a tool for nonprofit leaders and scholars to understand how the interaction between institutional logics and organizational identity creates conflict for nonprofit organizations.