Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-09T02:44:56.964Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - An Overview of Nonprofit Sector Theories

from Part I - Overviews

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Curtis Child
Edited by
Eva Witesman  and
Curtis Child
Eva Witesman
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Utah
Curtis Child
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Utah
Get access

Summary

The chapter introduces readers to the major theories of the sector. Those covered include: market-failure theory, government-failure theory, contract-failure theory, voluntary-failure theory, supply-side (or entrepreneurship) theory, social-origins theory, interdependence theory, the commons, mediating structures, and associationalism.

Keywords

sector theorynonprofit theorymarket-failure theoryvoluntary-failure theorysupply-side theorysocial-origins theoryinterdependence theorythe commonsmediating structuresassociationalism
Type
Chapter
Information
Reimagining Nonprofits
Sector Theory in the Twenty-First Century
 , pp. 17 - 40
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anheier, H. K. (2005). Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. Routledge.Google Scholar
Arrow, K. J. (1963). Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care. The American Economic Review, 53(5), 941–973.Google Scholar
Barman, E. (2013). Classificatory struggles in the nonprofit sector: The formation of the national taxonomy of exempt entities, 1969–1987. Social Science History, 37(1), 103–141.Google Scholar
Bator, F. M. (1958). The anatomy of market failure. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 72(3), 351–379.Google Scholar
Berger, P. L., & Neuhaus, R. J. (1977). To empower people: The role of mediating structures in public policy. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Clemens, E. S. (2006). The constitution of citizens: Political theories of nonprofit organizations. In Powell, W. W. & Steinberg, R. (Eds.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (2nd ed., pp. 207–220). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Coase, R. H. (1990). The firm, the market, and the law. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs. (1975). Giving in America: Toward a stronger voluntary sector.Google Scholar
Douglas, J. (1987). Political theories of nonprofit organization. In Powell, W. W. (Ed.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (1st ed., pp. 43–54). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, B., & Foley, M. W. (2001). Civil society and social capital. In Edwards, B., Foley, M. W., & Diani, M. (Eds.), Beyond Tocqueville: Civil society and the social capital debate in comparative perspective (pp. 1–14). Tufts University.Google Scholar
Fram, E. H., & Withers, J. (1999). Conflict of interest in the board room? New research points the way to solutions. Nonprofit World, 17(2), 19–21.Google Scholar
Frumkin, P. (2005). On being nonprofit: A conceptual and policy primer. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Fung, A. (2003). Associations and democracy: Between theories, hopes, and realities. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 515–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, P. D. (1992). Inventing the nonprofit sector and other essays on philanthropy, voluntarism, and nonprofit organizations. Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Handy, F., Seto, S., Wakaruk, A., Mersey, B., Mejia, A., & Copeland, L. (2010). The discerning consumer: Is nonprofit status a factor? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(5), 866–883.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H. B. (1980). The role of nonprofit enterprise. The Yale Law Journal, 89(5), 835–901.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H. B. (1981a). Consumer perceptions of nonprofit enterprise: Reply. The Yale Law Journal, 90(7), 1633–1638.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H. B. (1981b). The rationale for exempting nonprofit organizations from corporate income taxation. Yale Law Journal, 91(1), 54–100.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H. B. (1987). Economic theories of nonprofit organization. In Powell, W. W. (Ed.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (pp. 27–42). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hodgkinson, V., & Painter, A. (2003). Third sector research in international perspective: The role of ISTR. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 14(1), 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, E. (1987). The nonprofit sector in comparative perspective. In Powell, W. W. (Ed.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (pp. 397–415). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lechterman, T., & Reich, R. (2020). Political theory and the nonprofit sector. In Powell, W. W. & Bromley, P. (Eds.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (3rd ed., pp. 171–191). Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Lohmann, R. A. (1989). And lettuce is nonanimal: Toward a positive economics of voluntary action. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 18(4), 367–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohmann, R. A. (1992a). The commons: A multidisciplinary approach to nonprofit organization, voluntary action, and philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 21(3), 309–324.Google Scholar
Lohmann, R. A. (1992b). The commons: New perspectives on nonprofit organization, voluntary action and philanthropy. Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Lohmann, R. A. (2016). The Ostroms’ commons revisited. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(4), 27S–42S.Google Scholar
Mirabella, R. M. (2007). University-based educational programs in nonprofit management and philanthropic studies: A 10-year review and projections of future trends [10.1177/0899764007305051]. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36, 11S–27S. http://nvs.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0899764007305051CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mirabella, R. M., Hoffman, T., Teo, T. K., & McDonald, M. (2019). The evolution of nonprofit management and philanthropic studies in the United States: Are we now a disciplinary field? Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 9(1), 63–84.Google Scholar
Ott, J. S., & Dicke, L. A. (Eds.). (2015). The nature of the nonprofit sector (3rd ed.). Westview Press.Google Scholar
Powell, W. W., & Bromley, P. (2020). The nonprofit sector: A research handbook. Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Powell, W. W., & Steinberg, R. (2006). The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (2nd ed.). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Putnam, R. D., Leonardi, R., & Nanetti, R. Y. (1992). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M. (1987). Of market failure, voluntary failure, and third-party government: Toward a theory of government-nonprofit relationship in the modern welfare state. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 16, 30–48.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M. (1995). Partners in public service: Government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M. (Ed.). (2002). The tools of government: A guide to the new governance. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M., & Anheier, H. K. (1998). Social origins of civil society: Exploring the nonprofit sector cross-nationally. Voluntas, 9, 213–248.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M., Sokolowski, S. W., & Haddock, M. A. (2017). Explaining civil society development: A social origins approach. Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, D. H. (1999). Researching volunteer associations and other nonprofits: An emergent interdisciplinary field and possible new discipline. The American Sociologist, 30(4), 5–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, D. H. (2003). A history of ARNOVA [10.1177/0899764003254841]. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 32(3), 458–472. http://nvs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/458CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, D. H. (2013). Growth of research associations and journals in the emerging discipline of altruistics. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(4), 638–656.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, D. H. (2016). A survey of voluntaristics: Research on the growth of the global, interdisciplinary, socio-behavioral science field and emergent inter-discipline. Voluntaristics Review, 1(2), 1–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinberg, R. (2006). Economic theories of nonprofit organizations. In Powell, W. W. & Steinberg, R. (Eds.), The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (2nd ed., pp. 117–139). Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Tocqueville, A. de (2004). Democracy in America (A. Goldhammer, Trans.). Library of America.Google Scholar
Villa, D. (2006). Tocqueville and civil society. In Welch, C. B. (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Tocqueville (pp. 216–244). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Weisbrod, B. A. (1972). Toward a theory of the voluntary non-profit sector in a three-sector economy. Conference on Altruism and Economic Theory, New York.Google Scholar
Weisbrod, B. A. (1977). The voluntary nonprofit sector: An economic analysis. Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Williamson, O. E. (1981). The economics of organization: The transaction cost approach. The American Journal of Sociology, 87(3), 548–577.Google Scholar
Young, D. R. (1981). Entrepreneurship and the behavior of nonprofit organizations: Elements of a theory. In White, M. J. & Peterson, G. E. (Eds.), Nonprofit firms in a three sector economy (Vol. 6, pp. 135–162). Urban Institute.Google Scholar
Young, D. R. (1983). If not for profit, for what? A behavioral theory of the nonprofit sector based on entrepreneurship. Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Young, D. R. (2000). Alternative models of government–nonprofit sector relations: Theoretical and international perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1), 149–172.Google Scholar
Young, D. R. (2013). If not for profit, for what? Originally published by Lexington Books (now open access). http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/facbooks2013/1Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×