A Governance-Structure Approach to Voluntary Organizations

• Published in: Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 761 - 783
• Main Author: Enjolras, Bernard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2009; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Accountability; Advocacy; Checks and balances; Collective action; Community organizations; Coordination; Credibility; Decision Making; Donations; Failure; Governance; Governance structure; Incentives; Markets; Organizational Structure; Organizations; Ownership; Political systems; Reciprocity; Social marketing; Social problems and social policy. Social work; Sociology; Sociology of organizations and enterprises. Bureaucracy and administration; Sociology of work and sociology of organizations; Subsidies; Voluntary organizations; voluntary organizations; coordination failure; trustworthiness; governance; reciprocity; Voluntary help; Organization; Efficiency; Governance; Structure; Trust; Failure
• ISSN: 0899-7640; 1552-7395; 0899-7640
• DOI: 10.1177/0899764008320030

This article develops a governance-structure theoretical understanding of voluntary organizations. Voluntary organizations are seen as governance structures reinforcing the norm of (generalized or balanced) reciprocity, making possible the pooling of resources based on the reciprocity principle. Voluntary organizations’ governance structure presents some specific features in terms of formal ends, ownership, residual claims, decision-making procedures, accountability, checks and balances, control procedures, and embedded incentives facilitating collective action oriented toward public or mutual interest or toward advocacy. Because the voluntary governance structure is also compatible with several types of coordination mechanisms, voluntary organizations are able to operate in complex environments, mobilizing resources from market operations, governmental subsidies, or from reciprocity (volunteering, donations) while pursuing civic and democratic objectives. Their governance structure allows them to mitigate coordination failures and remain comparatively more efficient than other organizational forms. However, voluntary organizations may be subject to governance failures, the result of which could undermine trustworthiness and efficiency.