Governance in non-profit organizations: accountability for compliance or legitimacy?

COULE, Tracey (2013). Governance in non-profit organizations: accountability for compliance or legitimacy? In: British Academy of Management Conference, Liverpool, 10-12 September 2013.

This is the latest version of this item.

Full text not available from this repository.
Official URL: http://conference.bam.ac.uk/BAM2013/htdocs/Papers/...

Abstract

Based on case study research, this paper offers a conceptualization of the relationship between governance and accountability in which issues of power, ideologies and the negotiation of social relations are integral features. Specifically, I argue that principal-agent governance assumptions, based on a central logic of unitarism, can drive narrow compliance-based interpretations of accountability. Such approaches can appear at odds with the values embedded in many non-profits social missions and service delivery in that they prioritize minorities of powerful stakeholders over sustained periods of time. Conversely, a pluralist logic can create space for broad accountability to multiple stakeholders. Organizational actors can view this expressive, or values-based accountability as a source of legitimacy, producing complex relationships that challenge the instrumental orientation to social relations principal-agent theories assume.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: Sheffield Business School Research Institute > Ethical Organisations
Departments - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: Sheffield Business School > Department of Management
Depositing User: Tracey Coule
Date Deposited: 07 Oct 2013 09:47
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2021 19:30
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7425

Available Versions of this Item

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics