Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2008
Abstract
Highly regulated government funded programs are often more rigidly scrutinized than corporate institutions—with rules, regulations and policies filling nearly every nook of nonprofit organizational life. A concern during this era of scarce financial resources and tight regulatory oversight is that the acceptance of public funds will impede the nonprofit’s ability to implement local innovations that build upon and support the expectations of a variety of key stakeholders (governing boards, service consumers, the public-at-large, and government/private funders). This paper examines ways in which federally funded nonprofit organizations continually strive to improve their organizational performance through innovation—employing practices that conceal, screen, or expose innovative acts that exceed regulatory mandates and requirements. Semi-structured interviews with nonprofit executives and past and present Federal government administrators will provide insight into the questions, how, and to what end, does government resource dependency affect innovative practices in nonprofit sector programs? What strategies do agencies adopt to manage the tension between funder requirements and innovative opportunity in the context of resource- dependent environments? The paper draws upon institutional theory, resource dependency theory, and disruptive innovation theory to examine these issues.
Keywords
business ethics, institutional theory, resource dependency theory, disruptive innovation, grounded theory, nonprofit organizations, Head Start, federal funding
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Hosea, Marilyn A., "Toeing, Blurring or Crossing The Line? How Highly Regulated Organizations View Compliance and Innovation" (2008). Student Scholarship. 503.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/503