Research Insights

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Research Insights

Networks and equity

Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd have reminded the country about the inequality that is woven into the fabric of many countries, especially the United States. Problems like intergenerational poverty and economic inequality, chronic and infectious disease, home flooding, and educational outcomes are all marked by the systemic racism that plagues the country. Leaders forge networks to reduce or end these wicked problems.

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Research Insights

What makes a good network leader?

Leading a network is much more complicated than advancing a single organization. Many successful organizational leaders are not good network leaders. Organizational leaders are often accustomed to making a decision and then having it implemented by paid staff. Network leaders get organizational leaders to work together without merging into a single organization – meaning they neither make decisions independently nor have the power to mandate their implementation. Conveners and long-term

People Protesting with Sign Planet over Profit
Research Insights

Does Corporate Social Responsibility Communication Assuage Activists More Than Other People?

Popular culture and management scholars argue that activists serve as the watchdog for corporations. In the absence of government regulation, activists supposedly hold corporations to account. Corporate activists are more informed and, therefore, more skeptical about corporate social responsibility messages than the general public. Activists, the theory goes, can sniff out greenwashing in ways that the average citizen cannot. But, no studies had empirically examined whether activists were more skeptical

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Research Insights

NNSI Research Report: Catalyzing Organizational Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector

Innovation has become a buzzword for nonprofit organizations seeking to obtain funding, improve service delivery, and enhance performance. In this research, we asked one question: how can nonprofit organizations be more innovative? To answer this question, we conducted surveys among a random sample of 2,000 nonprofit organizations with a revenue above $250,000 in the United States from April to August 2017. In total, 306 organizations returned surveys and 293 surveys

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Research Insights

Nonprofit Merger Study released: Implications for nonprofit management

Nonprofit mergers are often presented as a last-ditch attempt to save organizations that would otherwise be forced to close. A new study on nonprofit mergers instead explores the possibility of mergers as a nonprofit strategy to achieve the mission and increase outcomes. NNSI researchers Kate Cooper and Rey Maktoufi worked with Professor Don Haider of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University to conduct the study. The research team

NNSI Research Report: Civil Society 2.0? Winners and Losers on the Chinese Internet

by Sophia Fu While some scholars argue that the Internet is transforming China’s civil society landscape, a recent study by NNSI researchers challenges this claim. Sophia Fu and Michelle Shumate studied the websites of 410 Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and how Chinese NGOs hyperlinked with each other in 2014. Their findings suggest that Chinese NGOs tend to hyperlink to similar NGOs. For example, government-organized NGOs (GONGOs) preferred to link with