Social Purpose Formation and Evolution in Nonprofit Organizations
Loading...
Access rights
openAccess
CC BY
CC BY
publishedVersion
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
This publication is imported from Aalto University research portal.
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Date
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
28
Series
Organization Science
Abstract
Social purpose lies at the heart of nonprofit organizations, serving as a nexus that motivates support from volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders, driving collective efforts to address social issues and anchoring everyday practices in moral imperatives that transcend organizational boundaries. Whereas a compelling social purpose is seen as vital for the survival and growth of nonprofits, we know surprisingly little about how purpose develops in these organizations. Drawing on a triadic framework that conceptualizes social purpose as narratives, shared understandings, and enactment in practice, we investigate how purpose forms and evolves within a nonprofit organization. Our findings elaborate how discrepancies can emerge between founders’ abstract, future-oriented visions and members’ practices related to the organization’s beneficiaries. These discrepancies may lead to conflicting or fragmented understandings of purpose, but they can also be generative, driving its evolution toward a resonant and achievable social impact. Whereas leaders are commonly seen as guarding organizational purpose from drift, our study shows how members in nonprofits protect purpose from irrelevance and inefficacy.Description
Other note
Citation
Kodeih, F, Schildt, H, Sandström, E, Ravasi, D & Heikkilä, J-P 2025, 'Social Purpose Formation and Evolution in Nonprofit Organizations', Organization Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.17213