How Does NGO Partnering Change Over Time? A Longitudinal Examination of Factors That Influence NGO Partner Selection

Nina F. O’Brien; Andrew Pilny; Yannick C. Atouba; Michelle Shumate; Janet L. Fulk; Peter R. Monge

doi:10.1177/0899764019854546

How Does NGO Partnering Change Over Time? A Longitudinal Examination of Factors That Influence NGO Partner Selection

Nina F. O’Brien, Andrew Pilny, Yannick C. Atouba, Michelle Shumate, Janet L. Fulk, Peter R. Monge

Communication

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Scholars suggest three partnering strategies that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can use to pursue strategic relationships in civil society networks: (a) the development of overlapping ties associated with network closure, (b) adopting an intermediary role between two disconnected organizations associated with brokerage, and (c) complying with the match-making demands of third-party organizations. Collaborative relationships among 489 NGOs were examined over a 14-year period (1990-2004) to determine which of these strategies NGOs use and when. The network demonstrated a strong preference for closure at the beginning of the observation period, after which time partnerships settled into a more stable pattern of intra-sector collaboration after 1996. Brokerage and constrained-choice strategies were not prevalent at any point over the observation period. Results are discussed in terms of network evolution and implications of the observed NGO preferences for closure. The potential benefits of emergent stability are also discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1229-1249
Number of pages	21
Journal	Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
Volume	48
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764019854546
State	Published - Dec 1 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors wish to acknowledge the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California for their financial support for this project.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.

Keywords

NGOs
interorganizational collaboration
networks
partnering

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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abstract = "Scholars suggest three partnering strategies that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can use to pursue strategic relationships in civil society networks: (a) the development of overlapping ties associated with network closure, (b) adopting an intermediary role between two disconnected organizations associated with brokerage, and (c) complying with the match-making demands of third-party organizations. Collaborative relationships among 489 NGOs were examined over a 14-year period (1990-2004) to determine which of these strategies NGOs use and when. The network demonstrated a strong preference for closure at the beginning of the observation period, after which time partnerships settled into a more stable pattern of intra-sector collaboration after 1996. Brokerage and constrained-choice strategies were not prevalent at any point over the observation period. Results are discussed in terms of network evolution and implications of the observed NGO preferences for closure. The potential benefits of emergent stability are also discussed.",

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AU - Fulk, Janet L.

AU - Monge, Peter R.

N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors wish to acknowledge the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California for their financial support for this project. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2019.

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N2 - Scholars suggest three partnering strategies that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can use to pursue strategic relationships in civil society networks: (a) the development of overlapping ties associated with network closure, (b) adopting an intermediary role between two disconnected organizations associated with brokerage, and (c) complying with the match-making demands of third-party organizations. Collaborative relationships among 489 NGOs were examined over a 14-year period (1990-2004) to determine which of these strategies NGOs use and when. The network demonstrated a strong preference for closure at the beginning of the observation period, after which time partnerships settled into a more stable pattern of intra-sector collaboration after 1996. Brokerage and constrained-choice strategies were not prevalent at any point over the observation period. Results are discussed in terms of network evolution and implications of the observed NGO preferences for closure. The potential benefits of emergent stability are also discussed.

AB - Scholars suggest three partnering strategies that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can use to pursue strategic relationships in civil society networks: (a) the development of overlapping ties associated with network closure, (b) adopting an intermediary role between two disconnected organizations associated with brokerage, and (c) complying with the match-making demands of third-party organizations. Collaborative relationships among 489 NGOs were examined over a 14-year period (1990-2004) to determine which of these strategies NGOs use and when. The network demonstrated a strong preference for closure at the beginning of the observation period, after which time partnerships settled into a more stable pattern of intra-sector collaboration after 1996. Brokerage and constrained-choice strategies were not prevalent at any point over the observation period. Results are discussed in terms of network evolution and implications of the observed NGO preferences for closure. The potential benefits of emergent stability are also discussed.

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How Does NGO Partnering Change Over Time? A Longitudinal Examination of Factors That Influence NGO Partner Selection

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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