How a Nonprofitness Orientation Influences Collective Civic Action: The Effects of Civic Engagement and Political Participation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Abstract

This research addresses the question of how the institutional frame of “nonprofitness” shapes the civic activities pursued by community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs). Specifically, we study how an organizational commitment and orientation to traditional nonprofit values affect activities that foster collective civic action. We draw on the theoretical frame of institutionalism to examine the role of CBOs as organizational actors that foster civic health through their collective civic action. Our research employs a structural equation model to test associations among several constructs, highlighting the interaction of key variables and activities. Based on our analysis of original survey data, we argue that nonprofits develop a civic capacity through the praxis of nonprofit values, civic health activities, and collective civic action. Our findings extend existing research through new measurement tools that capture the institutional orientation of community-based nonprofits that shapes the nature of their involvement in civil society and collective civic action.

Identifier

85122536427 (Scopus)

DOI

10.1007/s11266-021-00445-4

Publisher

Springer

ISSN

09578765

Publication Information

Voluntas

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