The proposition that restricted revenues inhibit nonprofit service delivery by reducing their financial discretion has accumulated in the academic literature but has not been empirically tested. Using a sample of arts and culture nonprofits in the USA, this study examines whether the proposition is upheld through a resource dependence lens. The results suggest that restricted revenues limit nonprofits’ efforts to seek other sources of revenue, which leads to a decrease in nonprofit service delivery. The results also suggest that this indirect effect holds and is even more pronounced in donative and performing arts nonprofits. Restricted revenues, however, do not curb nonprofits’ administrative expenses, and an increase in administrative expenses does not lead to an increase in nonprofit service delivery. The prevailing notion that restricted revenues force nonprofits to shift their cost structures away from administrative expenses may need to be reconsidered. Overall, this study partially supports the proposition that financial discretion plays a role in explaining the negative relationship between restricted revenues and nonprofit service delivery.

中文翻译：

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受限收入和非营利服务提供：财务自由裁量权的作用

限制收入通过减少他们的财务自由裁量权来抑制非营利服务提供的命题已经在学术文献中积累，但尚未经过实证检验。本研究使用美国艺术和文化非营利组织的样本，通过资源依赖的角度来检验这一主张是否得到支持。结果表明，受限的收入限制了非营利组织寻求其他收入来源的努力，从而导致非营利服务提供的减少。结果还表明，这种间接影响在捐赠和表演艺术非营利组织中成立，甚至更为明显。然而，受限制的收入并不能抑制非营利组织的管理费用，管理费用的增加也不会导致非营利组织服务提供的增加。可能需要重新考虑限制收入迫使非营利组织将其成本结构从管理费用转移的流行观念。总体而言，本研究部分支持财务自由裁量权在解释受限收入与非营利服务提供之间的负相关关系中发挥作用的命题。