Non-profit organisation adaptive capacities framework in a turbulent environment: an organisational resilience construct perspective.

Abstract

The unprecedented escalation in the number of non-profit organisations (NPOs) in South Africa matches the global trend in the growth rate of NPOs. As societal needs increase, the NPO sector will continue to expand in response to these needs, creating further constraints in funding and resources. An understanding of how environmental NPOs can augment their organisational resilience to mitigate existential concerns is important. However, there is a dearth of academic studies on non-profit organisational resilience, considered a broad-ranging theory in the nascent phase. Given the aforementioned, this study aimed to ascertain the adaptive capacities of South African environmental NPOs faced with limited resources and increased competition in a turbulent environment from an organisational resilience construct perspective. Adaptive capacity is a vital dimension and leads to organisational resilience during turbulent events; it further enables the practical use of organisational resources to enhance institutional effectiveness. This qualitative study applied an interpretivist philosophy with an inductive research approach and a case study strategy. Eleven NPO leaders participated in semi-structured interviews and cross-case analysis was conducted to generate a robust view of the cases studied. An adaptive capacity framework to promote non-profit organisational resilience, applicable to individual NPOs, was developed. The findings indicated that NPO resilience can be achieved by developing the 18 interconnected adaptive capacities identified within the broad categories of Culture, Leadership and People, Tactical Administration and Tactical Planning and Restructuring. This framework included three newly discovered adaptive capacities, namely, Sustainable Development Goals Alignment, Academic Institution Alignment and Transformation Agenda. To augment organisational resilience, environmental NPOs could improve funding prospects by accentuating their work within the framework of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Furthermore, a holistic view of promoting NPO resilience could reduce barriers connected to managers’ beliefs that no benefit is to be gained from a resilience outlook. This study contributes to the academic literature on organisational resilience theory in the nascent phase and could assist policymakers in the understudied South African NPO sector.