Essay Sample on Strategic Collaboration: The Board's Impact on Nonprofit Partnerships

In any organization, either for-profit or non-profit, the board of directors plays a significant role. The main purpose of this article is to examine the role played by the board of directors within- and cross-sector organizations. The article articulates that the board of directors determines and searches for future partners, makes a common ground for collaborators, as well as establishes correct collaborative administration. Particularly, the article evaluates the effects of the board of directors on social and human capital on nonprofit organizations collaborating with other businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits. Based on an online survey that included 636 nonprofit organizations, it was discovered that the social influence of the board was positively affected by the occurrence and volume of within- and cross-sector nonprofit collaboration (Imh & Shumate, 2018). Nonetheless, the human capital of the board betters nonprofit governance when social capital is higher.

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In the current era, collaboration has become a common thing among government, non-profit, and private entities when they aspire to accomplish common goals. Whereas finding solutions to complex social issues is the main goal of nonprofits, interlocking directorates, institutional forces, and organization resources might be the real catalysts of nonprofits' cooperation to meet every collaborator's wants (Imh & Shumate, 2018). Previous investigations do not acknowledge the significance of active persons in non-profit collaborative engagements. Institutional forces and organizational resources influence the partnership, but people are the ones who manipulate these factors as well as decide on nonprofit partnerships. Just like individuals, the board of directors might draw various resources besides assuming active roles to facilitate and determine nonprofit collaboration beyond converting personal partnership into institutional cooperation. Members of the board may offer critical information concerning future partnerships based on social connections. The board members might also decide on strategic decisions concerning the collaboration by using their knowledge and expertise.

Nonprofit organizations work together with three other collaborators including corporations, other non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Nonprofits work together with fellow nonprofits to find solutions to community challenges and better service delivery to society via joint efforts, decision-making, and resources. Such collaborations are defined as within-sector collaboration. The intensity of within-sector collaboration might vary, but the article refers to them as informal. The collaboration between nonprofits and businesses is a strategic affiliation between the two sectors to exchange resources and accomplish economic and social objectives. This kind of partnership is different from other types of collaborations since the two have different goals in cross-sector collaboration. Therefore, the collaboration has differing challenges, processes, and opportunities. The third type of nonprofit collaboration is nonprofit-government collaboration. This type of collaboration differs from the rest since it is necessitated by the government and provides opportunities to nonprofit organizations. The partnership enables nonprofit organizations to substitute government organizations in delivering public services. In turn, the nonprofit organization secures its resources and finances from the government. Government organizations and non-profit organizations collaborate to solve local challenges, improve social relations, and achieve their objectives swiftly. Nonprofits act as the channel to share information, make social capital as well as develop capacities. Collaboration has various benefits such as reducing competition for resources and sharing the cost with other partners. Institutional forces like the legislature might set regulations that induce partnership and guide its operation.

The board of directors comprises individuals who take care of the conduct and affairs of any organization. The individuals make key decisions for better performance of the organization when it faces some constraints like financial or environmental hardship. The collaborations between nonprofit organizations are a strategic approach for their legitimacy and survival. Being decision-makers, the board of directors defines the partnership that the organization strikes. Board members are channels for developing associations between organizations that they are affiliated with from previous engagements. Studies have indicated that the volume of board members in nonprofit organizations raised the profitability of official partnerships with other non-profit. The diversity of board members significantly influences partnership benefits such as improved service delivery (Imh & Shumate, 2018). Board members might bring with them resources that enhance collaboration, and do not necessarily develop inter-organizational partnerships. Focusing on social and human capital might elucidate the difference in the level of collaboration in nonprofit organizations. The social capital of the board is the connection the members have to other organizations. Through social connections to other organizations, the board members have access to important resources and data, which betters administrative innovatory, organizational survival, and monetary success. The social capital of the board might also be an efficient approach to starting and sustaining nonprofit partnerships. Nonprofit partnerships need relevant effort, time, and resources from the collaborators. They also entail getting the rightful partners with common goals, needs, and culture. The risks associated with non-profit collaboration include free riding and being opportunistic. Board members who have higher social capital access internal data and wealth knowledge concerning prospective partners via various ties with the partners. For example, studies reveal that board members with multiple ties with other companies can enhance information acquisition among the partners. Within nonprofit organizations, board social capital might be leveraged to acquire funds and information from the government. The social capital of the board also increases the legitimacy of the organization in the field besides making it much more attractive among the partners. Creating more ties with other organizations might better the focal structural position of the organization in the field.

The social capital of the board might contribute to the nonprofit partnership and is also needed for making decisions about the collaboration. Human capital refers to a person's knowledge and expertise, which are gained from education, experience, and training. In the board, human capital refers to the skills and knowledge the members possess and the fulfillment they get in performing their duties. Appropriate knowledge and skills are important in any board to forge fruitful partnerships. Board human capital can influence the process of decision-making concerning the nonprofit partnership. The partners in nonprofit collaboration require knowledge skills and commitment to develop and sustain the partnership. The knowledge and skills also lead to efficient performance and decision-making with an increase in the volume of partners. Boards with more knowledge and skills may use them to analyze the risks and conditions of the partnership and make considerable decisions about the collaboration. Further, the human capital of the board might influence the performance of the organization. The improved performance of the organization might consequently increase the attractiveness of nonprofit collaborators. Better knowledge and skills are associated with improved performance and results. Organizations are more likely to partner with better-performing partners to reduce the risks of having undependable partners as well as increase competency (Gazley et al., 2010). Nonetheless, organizations with higher human capital might decide to focus on their individual organization since their capacity may result in higher performance. Board members with the correct knowledge and skills may condemn collaboration, which might enhance organizational performance.

The main implication of the article is that the board's human capital and the board's social capital are key in forging any collaboration with whichever organization. The ties that the board members have with different organizations determine the impulse of the partnership (Atouba, 2016). Moreover, the skills and knowledge the board members possess are important in deciding which company to partner with and the conditions of the partnership. The main assumption of the article is that both big and small non-profit organizations in different countries are affected in a similar way by the board of directors. Additionally, the executive directors are the ones who did the survey, and the survey may only include their personal perspectives. Moreover, the study assumed that all nonprofit organizations were similar, and therefore, did not pay attention to the different forms of nonprofit organizations.

The article concentrated on examining the importance of board social and board human capital in the three types of nonprofit organizations. The social capital of the board contributes to each nonprofit collaboration positively. Nonprofit human capital also influences nonprofit collaboration by enhancing profitability in the presence of higher social capital. Social capital enhances collaboration by relying on the social connection of the board members.

References

Atouba,Y.C. (2016, Feb 3).Let's start from the beginning: Examining the connections between partner selection, trust, and communicative effectiveness in voluntary partnerships among human services nonprofits. Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215626982

Gazley, B., Chang, W. K., & Bingham, L. B. (2010). Board diversity, stakeholder representation, and collaborative performance in community mediation centers. Public Administration Review, 70(4),610–620. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02182.x

Imh, J. & Shumate, M. (2018, Sept 18). Howdoesaboardofdirectorsinfluencewithin-and cross-sectornonprofitcollaboration. DOI:10.1002/nml.21343