Navigating Networks: How Nonprofit Network Membership Shapes Response to Resource Scarcity

Social Problems
Jennifer W Bouek

Abstract

Central to the contemporary American welfare state, nonprofits are increasingly squeezed between declining resources and a simultaneous peak in demand for services. Scholars have outlined a number of ways that nonprofits strategically respond to resource scarcity. Why nonprofits select particular strategies, however, is less clear. This article motivates a network membership perspective via a mixed-methods study of one food bank and its associated food pantries, wherein actors navigate competing network demands that are emblematic of those faced by other nonprofits. Food banks source food from three types of networks - a cartel-like network orchestrated by a national coordinating body, a peer-to-peer inter-food bank network, and a bureaucratic network anchored by the USDA - that place overlapping and conflicting constraints on the organizations. In combination, network demands entangle the food banks within a web of tensions that prevent many forms of adaptation while enabling others, a predicament I refer to in this article as network entrapment. How organizations navigate network demands has implications for the vitality of the organizations and the wellbeing of their beneficiaries. My results suggest that entrapment can lead...Continue Reading

References

Sep 26, 2014·The Sociological Quarterly·Nina Eliasoph

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
W A Zellmer
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
F N Hepburn
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Miriam SeidelJesse Sharrard
Rivista dell'infermiere
P Di Giulio
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved