Organizational Pathways for Social Innovation and Societal Impacts in Disability Nonprofits
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Organizational Pathways for Social Innovation and Societal Impacts in Disability Nonprofits Rachel Taylor1
•
Nuttaneeya (Ann) Torugsa2,3 • Anthony Arundel3,4
International Society for Third-Sector Research 2019
Abstract Using data from a sample of 301 Australian disability nonprofit organizations (NPOs), this study applies configurational thinking to identify combinations of organizational capabilities that lead to Nonprofit Social Innovation (NSI)—a new service or process that promotes social inclusion of people with disabilities—and examines whether NSI is a sufficient condition for high societal impacts to be achieved. The conceptualization and components of the NSI framework were developed in our previous research through a two-month researcher-in-residency at disability NPOs. In this study, we employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify several ‘‘recipes’’ of capabilities (varying by organizational size and geographical location) for NSI development. The analyses find that high societal impacts from NSI occur when organizations adopt diverse perspectives, and embrace either person-focused approaches or operate in a risk-tolerant environment. These findings provide valuable linkages to managerial practice in nonprofits and advance emerging theoretical understandings of social innovation. Keywords Capabilities Disability nonprofits Qualitative comparative analysis Social innovation Societal impact
& Nuttaneeya (Ann) Torugsa [email protected] 1
Federation Business School, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Australia
2
Ratchasuda College, Mahidol University, 111 Moo 6 Phuttamonthon 4 Road, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Bangkok 73170, Thailand
3
Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
4
UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Introduction In the Australian disability sector, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are currently grappling with the implementation of a major policy shift involving the reorganization of external funding structures and rapid marketization of services (Connellan 2014). Yet despite these challenges that threaten to destabilize the sector, many NPOs are allocating resources to develop and implement social innovations that create social value with the potential to solve long-standing social problems (Green and Mears 2014). In broad terms, social innovation is defined by Phills et al. (2008, p. 39) as ‘‘a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable or just than existing solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals.’’ In this study, we explore the role of social innovation as a mechanism used by disability NPOs as they go beyond improvements to service provision in order to improve the equitable functioning of society via radical shifts in thinking, relating, and operating. Despite the potential and current popularity of the concept of social innovation (Pol a
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