Purpose

For non-profit organizations (NPOs) external funding is an essential resource. Studies highlight how control is attributed to funders and so external funding threatens the autonomy of the recipient organization. The purpose of this study is to investigate how external control can be structured and exercised, and to explore how control interacts with organizational autonomy.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on interviews and participant observations with NPOs and their funders over a period of time. It reports from four different funding-relations: contract-based, social investment, gift-funded and civil society–public partnership. The concept of organizational discretion is used to analyse how control and autonomy are interconnected in these relationship.

Findings

The analysis illustrates the value in exposing the different discretionary boundaries related to external control and how control can become a sparring partner in the organization's striving for autonomy. A concluding argument is that control and autonomy are each other's companions rather than antagonists. The study leads us to question a general assumption that NPOs strive to avoid resource dependence and external control but instead may use such control to develop strategies for independence and self-realization.

Originality/value

The empirical material is unique as it includes voices of recipient organizations and funders, and offers a comparison of different controlling-relations. The study presents an innovative analytical framework based on the concepts of discretionary space and reasoning, which supports a critical discussion regarding the idea of external control as detrimental to the autonomy of NPOs.

中文翻译：

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控制与自治：资源依赖关系与非营利组织

目的

对于非营利组织 (NPO) 而言，外部资金是必不可少的资源。研究强调了控制权是如何归于资助者的，因此外部资助会威胁到受援组织的自主权。本研究的目的是研究如何构建和实施外部控制，并探讨控制如何与组织自治相互作用。

设计/方法/方法

该研究基于一段时间内对非营利组织及其资助者的访谈和参与者观察。它报告了四种不同的资助关系：基于合同、社会投资、捐赠资助和民间社会-公共伙伴关系。组织自由裁量权的概念用于分析控制和自治在这些关系中是如何相互关联的。

发现

分析说明了暴露与外部控制相关的不同自由裁量边界的价值，以及控制如何成为组织争取自主权的争吵伙伴。最后的论点是控制和自主是彼此的伙伴而不是对手。该研究使我们质疑一个普遍假设，即非营利组织努力避免资源依赖和外部控制，而是可能使用这种控制来制定独立和自我实现的策略。

原创性/价值

经验材料是独一无二的，因为它包括受援组织和资助者的声音，并提供了不同控制关系的比较。该研究提出了一个基于自由裁量空间和推理概念的创新分析框架，支持关于外部控制不利于非营利组织自治的观点的批判性讨论。