TY - JOUR
T1 - Nonprofit boards
T2 - Crucibles of expertise or symbols of local identities?
AU - Abzug, Rikki
AU - Galaskiewicz, Joseph
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2001/3
Y1 - 2001/3
N2 - Nonprofit boards, as boundary spanners, often serve the institutional purpose of affording legitimacy to organizations. Neo-institutional theory suggests that nonprofit organizations, as particularly susceptible to legitimacy demands of changing environments, would tend toward rationalizing internal structures. This article, using historical panel data, explores the extent of one form of rationalization, recruiting trustees with college education and/or professional or managerial occupations. It finds that trustees with college education, managers, and professionals continue to have significant representation on nonprofit boards. Also, many boards are increasingly less exclusive with respect to gender, race, and religion. Some select nonprofit boards, however, continue to be dominated by different gender, racial, and religious identities, suggesting that nonprofit boards also serve the purpose of representing different identity and/or interest groups in the community.
AB - Nonprofit boards, as boundary spanners, often serve the institutional purpose of affording legitimacy to organizations. Neo-institutional theory suggests that nonprofit organizations, as particularly susceptible to legitimacy demands of changing environments, would tend toward rationalizing internal structures. This article, using historical panel data, explores the extent of one form of rationalization, recruiting trustees with college education and/or professional or managerial occupations. It finds that trustees with college education, managers, and professionals continue to have significant representation on nonprofit boards. Also, many boards are increasingly less exclusive with respect to gender, race, and religion. Some select nonprofit boards, however, continue to be dominated by different gender, racial, and religious identities, suggesting that nonprofit boards also serve the purpose of representing different identity and/or interest groups in the community.
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U2 - 10.1177/0899764001301003
DO - 10.1177/0899764001301003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035263642
VL - 30
SP - 51
EP - 73
JO - Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
JF - Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
SN - 0899-7640
IS - 1
ER -