Using data from a sample of 301 Australian disability nonprofit organizations (NPOs), this study applies configurational thinking to identify combinations of organizational capabilities that lead to Nonprofit Social Innovation (NSI)—a new service or process that promotes social inclusion of people with disabilities—and examines whether NSI is a sufficient condition for high societal impacts to be achieved. The conceptualization and components of the NSI framework were developed in our previous research through a two-month researcher-in-residency at disability NPOs. In this study, we employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify several “recipes” of capabilities (varying by organizational size and geographical location) for NSI development. The analyses find that high societal impacts from NSI occur when organizations adopt diverse perspectives, and embrace either person-focused approaches or operate in a risk-tolerant environment. These findings provide valuable linkages to managerial practice in nonprofits and advance emerging theoretical understandings of social innovation.

In a recent article in this journal, Stockemer characterizes fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in comparison with Ordinary Least Squares regression as a ‘poor methodological choice’ because of its ‘suboptimal nature’ for the study of descriptive female representation in national assemblies across the globe. This article seeks to demonstrate that his judgments are based on two misconceptions: first, a misunderstanding of set-theoretical thinking in general, and specifically Qualitative Comparative Analysis; and second, a misinformed application throughout various steps of the fsQCA, for example, the calibration process, the analysis of necessary and sufficient conditions, and the interpretation of the results. In pointing out the weaknesses of Stockemer’s application of OLS, we argue – in contrast to Stockemer – that fsQCA can be a valuable tool for the comparative study of social phenomena, which offers a fundamentally different analytical perspective from standard quantitative techniques.

In Latin America, it is recognised that social movements have a relevant role in changing social policies on abortion and marriage; however, little is known about the operating conditions accounting for the causal implication. Resorting to a qualitative comparative analysis of 24 Mexican policies, this research explores the conditions taken from moral policy literature. Drawing on extensive data, it argues three causal patterns, where influential movements are a necessary but no sufficient, (1) influential movements require a context full of “legal opportunities”—favourable legal precedents and Court intervention; (2) if they only find favourable legal precedents, conservative actors influence must be scarce, and (3) in cases where the Congress is conservative, the Court intervention, and the minimum conservative influence are required for movements to achieve legal changes on abortion and marriage. The novelty of this article consists of a new model that explains the conditions that play a relevant role in analysing abortion and equal marriage policy changes; in addition, valuable inputs are included for the benefit of the interested parties.

What explains cross‐national variation of right‐wing terrorism and violence (RTV)? This question remains largely unanswered in existing research on the extreme right because (1) events data suitable for cross‐national comparisons have been lacking, and (2) existing analyses fail to capture RTV's causal complexity, which involve multiple causal paths (equifinality) comprising causal conditions that become sufficient for the outcome only in combination (conjunctural causation). To help fill these gaps, this article uses new events data in a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) research design, aiming to explain variation in the extent of RTV in 18 West European countries between 1990 and 2015. In doing so, the article identifies two ‘causal recipes’ that consistently distinguish countries with extensive RTV experience from those with low or moderate RTV experience. The first (North European) recipe involves the combination of high immigration, low electoral support for anti‐immigration (radical right) parties, and extensive public repression of radical right actors and opinions. The second (South European) recipe involves the combination of socioeconomic hardship, authoritarian legacies, and extensive left‐wing terrorism and militancy. Notably, both recipes contain elements of ‘grievances’ and ‘opportunities’, suggesting that these two theories, which are conventionally seen as contrasting, may be more fruitfully seen as complementary. Furthermore, a highly polarised conflict between far right activists and their enemies represents a third necessary condition for extensive RTV to occur. The article concludes by highlighting the paradox that countermeasures intended to constrain radical right politics appear to fuel extreme right violence, while countermeasures that may constrain extreme right violence would imply an advancement of radical right politics.

In this rebuttal piece to Buche et al, I reiterate my criticism of fuzzy set analysis as a method that is poorly suited to study women’s representation in parliament and other rather complex phenomena. The use of fuzzy set analysis is problematic from the onset, because this method asks the researchers to distinguish meaningful from non-meaningful variation and set benchmarks for high women’s representation, the cross-over point and low or non-high representation. Yet, in the study of women’s representation, the distinction between meaningful and non-meaningful variation and the setup of these benchmarks is problematic if not impossible, even with case-specific knowledge. For example, in Asia and Latin America can we talk about high women’s representation if there are 30 per cent women deputies, 35 per cent women deputies or 40 per cent women deputies? Neither the literature nor Buche et al give an answer to this question. This problem of arbitrarily setting benchmarks is magnified by the non-robust findings and low coverage of this method. It is disturbing if we get a completely different combination of conditions, if we slightly change the benchmark for high women’s representation and/or that of some of the conditions or independent variables. Because of these reasons, researchers should refrain from using fuzzy set analysis, when explaining variation in the number of deputies in parliament.

Social service contracting to nongovernmental organizations is popular form of privatization across the world. Although nonprofits are preferable social service providers for legal and normative reasons, governments in the United States increasingly rely on for-profit organizations to deliver social services. This trend warrants further exploration about whether nonprofits or for-profits perform according to theoretical expectations when they exist in the same market. This study employs qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to examine how sector-public, nonprofit, and for-profit-combines with structural variables to produce acceptable contract performance in juvenile justice programs. QCA is a discovery-oriented research tool that determines whether combinations of variables within cases produce a specific outcome and whether those combinations are consistent across cases. I find sector is not a necessary or sufficient predictor of acceptable performance on its own. Rather it combines with market factors to lead to acceptable contract performance. Combinations vary by sector, indicating that sectors behave differently in similar circumstances. The primary theoretical contribution of this paper is to provide a nuanced account of contract performance in mixed sector markets.

Research on the underrepresentation of youth in parliaments has rarely focused on political parties. This is surprising as parties are central in the selection of candidates and therefore should play an important role in determining the demographic composition of elected politicians. We created a data set of party parliamentary groups between 2017 and 2020 and conducted a linear regression as well as a fuzzy set QCA. Building upon previous literature, we expected the share of young Members of Parliament (MPs) to be higher under the following conditions: a low/high GDP per capita, a proportional representation electoral system, decentralized nomination processes, strong party youth organizations, an inclusive party ideology and young party structures. Our research support previous findings that electoral systems matter. Furthermore, our results indicate that whilst ideology might be a significant factor by itself, it becomes influential especially in combination with PR systems. The role of strong youth organizations, decentralized selectorates and party age seem to be highly context-dependent and more ambivalent. In summary, there is no singular condition under which we observe adequate youth representation, but rather different configurations of conditions. By applying the newest guidelines on good practices in QCA research, we present one of the first applications of these techniques in party and representation research.

Social scientists often face a fundamental problem: Did I leave something causally important out of my explanation? How do I diagnose this? Where do I look for solutions to this problem? We build bridges between regression models and qualitative comparative analysis by comparing diagnostics and solutions to the problem of omitted variables and conditions. We then discuss various approaches and tackle the theoretical issues around causality which must be addressed before attending to technical fixes. In the conclusions, we reflect on the bridges built between the two traditions and draw more general lessons about the logic of social science research.

Recent studies have drawn attention to the importance of pre-electoral coalitions in multiparty presidential democracies. Despite this, much scholarship has neglected the period during which pre-electoral coalitions turn into governing coalitions. Through a systematic cross-case analysis of Latin American cases, this paper examines why some coalition governments largely resemble the pre-electoral pacts that preceded them while others do not. The results lend credence to the legislative status granted by pre-election coalition members to the government, the low polarization among pre-electoral coalition members and the high ideological polarization in the legislature to explain the resemblance between pre- and post-electoral coalitions. Intriguingly, case-based analysis suggests that the temporal distance to government inauguration plays, at best, a marginal role in this process. These findings contribute to the still-growing literature on pre-electoral coalitions in presidential democracies by shedding light on the complex causation behind the pathway from pre-electoral bargaining to fully developed coalition governments.

Blockchain technology has attracted attention from public sector agencies, mainly for its perceived potential to improve transparency, data integrity, and administrative processes. However, its concrete value and applicability within government settings remain contested, and real-world adoption has been limited and uneven. This raises questions regarding the conditions that promote or impede adoption at the institutional level. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is employed in this research to explore how the combined effects of national-level regulatory clarity, financial provision, digital readiness, and ecosystem engagement shape patterns of blockchain adoption in the European public sector. Rather than identifying any single factor as decisive, our findings reveal a plurality of institutional paths leading to high adoption intensity, with regulatory certainty and European Union funding appearing most frequently on high-consistency paths. In contrast, digital readiness indicators and national research and development budgets are substitutable, challenging resource-based perceptions of technology adoption and supporting a configurational understanding that accounts for institutional interdependence and contextuality. We argue that policy strategies cannot look for overall readiness but should place key institutional strengths relative to local conditions and public value objectives.

Failure to attract external financing is a common puzzle for start-up firms and often leads to the use of entrepreneurs' personal funding, typically with the help of their family. With little entrepreneurial experience, nascent entrepreneurs will have no factual signals to show external investors, except their characteristics or those of their family. The literature mainly focuses on the net effects of entrepreneurs' personal capital endowments in isolation on start-up capital structure despite emerging appreciation of the importance of family-related factors. However, little is known about which combinations of capital endowments across capital dimensions (i.e., human, social, and financial capital) or generations (i.e., parent and child) will likely affect the level of external funding. Drawing on signaling theory, we adopt a configurational approach to examine the compositions of intergenerational capital endowments that are sufficient to shape external funding. Conducting a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of Chinese privately owned enterprises of nascent entrepreneurs, we identify four typical family prototypes that feature intergenerational capital endowments for low external funding. Findings highlight the significance of family dynamics in China and their role in shaping new venture financing by displaying intergenerational signals.

The conventional policy analyses with a path-dependent framework are featured by sequential causation composed of analytically two distinct phases: path production that occurs through a significant policy change at critical junctures and the subsequent path reproduction. This paper explores one policy area where the two-phase framework falls short in explaining path-making and maintenance – college education expansion in Korea. We argue that the shortcomings of the two-phase model can potentially be overcome by incorporating the underlying rule of the countries into the model. We identify the underlying rule relying on Esping-Andersen’s welfare regimes to highlight the political underpinnings of the countries. We show that the underlying liberal rule is a fundamental causal force behind the production and reproduction of college education expansion in Korea, using qualitative comparative analysis. Our framework based on the underlying rule provides a richer understanding of path dependency.

Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is a method for assessing the effects of configurations of variables leading to an outcome. The recent growth of interest in this technique in organizational psychology is proving this method to be an important tool for addressing new and decisive research hypotheses. However, the effectiveness of fsQCA is dictated not only by its general principles, but also by how well these are understood and applied in the research community. Consequently, a guide that covers the fundamental ideas and tenets of the approach is required to aid the research community in its comprehension and practical application. The current study seeks to offer an understanding of FsQCA by providing: (a) A complete description of the method highlighting some of the most important theoretical-methodological aspects; (b) a perspective on the most used guidelines and recommendations, and (c) step-by-step instructions on how to carry out FsQCA in R using the QCA package. Data from 120 employees and supervisors derived from a company based in central Italy were used o best to illustrate how to carry out fsQCA. Codes for conducting the analyses from the QCA package for R accompany the tutorial and can be adapted to a new dataset.

For the first time in its history, Ghana held a referendum in 2018 to divide some of its regions to create new ones. Though the regions are purely administrative, the division faced resistance in some areas and not in others. This study combines qualitative comparative analysis with process tracing to show that the resistance occurred within regions with relatively high support for the opposition party, but only in the combined presence of (traditional) elites competing from either side of the region and controversies regarding claims to (traditional) political authority. Further, it finds a bottom-up mechanism of the resistance, evolving as the threatened interests of stakeholders grew from the community to the regional, national and diaspora levels. As in other African cases, this suggests that the sources of conflicts in Africa are not so much about ethnic differences but more about elites’ unequal access to political and economic resources.

Organizational interactions in fields, including their antecedents and consequences, remain under-researched, in particular with regard to relational distance and transformative skills. Through a comparative study of the German and Japanese wind power sectors, we explore the importance of distance among organizational actors and the development of skills. While in the case of Germany a radical increase in wind energy generation can be witnessed, the situation in the field of Japanese wind power remains largely unchanged. We show how different degrees of distance among organizational actors in these two countries result in the different development of skills that stimulate transformation in the field of energy generation. More precisely, we illustrate the pivotal role of distant challengers with their transformative skills for the successful conversion of already established field structures. Our study contributes to field theory by elaborating on the understanding of the evolution of relational distance, thereby grasping the dynamic interplay between the diversity of actors and their skill formation within a certain strategic action field.

Built upon configuration theory, this study performs a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to delineate alternative and sufficient configurations of local knowledge spillover (LKS) channels, that is, how informal interactions and spinoff, and absorptive capacity are combined to facilitate service innovation. Primary data was collected from the largest software outsourcing cluster in Vietnam in 2018, which provides a sample size of 42 firms. The findings imply that multiple configurations of different channels of LKS in conjunction with absorptive capacity can lead to service innovation. This study makes three important contributions. First, it contributes to the debate over the critical role of LKS and absorptive capacity in innovation by offering a more holistic, yet nuanced understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying service innovation. Second, this study sheds light on viable and equifinal pathways for enhancing innovation capabilities, therefore contributing to the literature on cluster upgrading and global service sourcing. Third, it provides some managerial implications for indigenous spinoff firms in developing countries seeking to innovate through the strategic use of LKS.