Book contents
- Reimagining Nonprofits
- Reimagining Nonprofits
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 An Invitation to Rethink the Nonprofit Sector
- Part I Overviews
- 2 An Overview of Nonprofit Sector Theories
- 3 The Prevalence of Traditional Nonprofit Sector Theories in Research
- 4 What Makes Good Nonprofit Sector Theory?
- Part II Reflections and Refinements
- Part III New Directions
- Part IV Conclusion
- Index
- References
3 - The Prevalence of Traditional Nonprofit Sector Theories in Research
from Part I - Overviews
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 January 2024
- Reimagining Nonprofits
- Reimagining Nonprofits
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 An Invitation to Rethink the Nonprofit Sector
- Part I Overviews
- 2 An Overview of Nonprofit Sector Theories
- 3 The Prevalence of Traditional Nonprofit Sector Theories in Research
- 4 What Makes Good Nonprofit Sector Theory?
- Part II Reflections and Refinements
- Part III New Directions
- Part IV Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
To what extent are contemporary scholars using the ten explanations of the nonprofit sector described in Chapter 2? The authors use scholarship, or published academic articles, as data to answer this question. They find that the ten nonprofit-sector theories continue to be an important foundation for nonprofit studies research. The most commonly used sector theories are associationalism, contract failure, nonprofit/government interdependence, and social origins. However, their analysis suggests that use of the nonprofit-sector theories is merely ceremonial. Nonprofit scholars could do much more to question, develop, and refine the existing sector theories – or to develop new ones. This research highlights the importance of a book like this one to encourage scholars to discuss and question existing sector theories and pose new sector-theory contributions to better understand the nonprofit sector.
Keywords
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- Information
- Reimagining NonprofitsSector Theory in the Twenty-First Century, pp. 41 - 70Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024