Date of Award
Spring 2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Organizational Leadership
First Advisor
Dr. Joshua Henson
Second Advisor
Dr. Bethany Peters
Third Advisor
Dr. Jimmie J. Chambers
Abstract
Nonprofit organizations that operate independently without knowledge of effective governance principles and convening leadership through collective-action collaboration have less shared resources and philanthropic value to fulfill their organization’s mission. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic accentuated awareness of the need for nonprofit organizations and voluntary action associations to collaborate, leading to increased shared resources and philanthropic value through governance and convening leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine four design principles of commons governance (Ostrom, 1990), five nonprofit commons governance principles and assumptions (Lohmann, 1992), and five convening leadership dimensions (Clary, 2021) to understand how governance and convening leadership contribute to shared resources and philanthropic value through collaboration for nonprofit organizations. Specifically, the aim was to operationalize governance and convening leadership in nonprofit and voluntary action associations through collaboration. Data from five research questions and 20 interview questions resulted in 1,097 data segments, 51 codes, 32 categories, and 47 themes. Ten participants from nine nonprofit organizations representing 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and voluntary action associations in the state of Arkansas in the southeastern United States of America participated in the study. The findings showed that governance and leadership contribute to shared resources and philanthropic value through collaboration for nonprofit organizations, especially during crises. The findings further showed that a framework based on empirical data, when implemented, provides a practical model for the development and management of nonprofit organizations through collaboration, governance, and convening leadership contributing to the furtherance of an organization’s mission.
Recommended Citation
Clary, P. A. (2022). Exploring Commons Governance, Nonprofit Commons Governance, and Convening Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations to Solve Complex Societal and Global Issues: A Qualitative Study. [Doctoral dissertation, Southeastern University]. FireScholars. https://firescholars.seu.edu/org-lead/12
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons