A model of cause-related marketing for profit-driven and non-profit organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a model of cause-related marketing (CRM) for both profit-driven (PD) and non-profit (NP) organizations.
Design/methodology/approach – The model consists of two parallel internal and external organizational processes – one representing the process of a NP organization and the other a PD organization. They are interlinked as the outcome of a CRM-partnership is dependent upon their mutual efforts.
Findings – The authors argue that it is essential to remember that a CRM-partnership is a challenge and risk for both the PD and NP organizations that may harm their reputation and position in the marketplace and/or society. CRM has benefits as well as downsides that should not be underestimated nor neglected.
Research limitations/implications – Will the involvement of the PD or NP organizations in the resultant partnership be perceived as commercialism, altruism or a combination of both, in the marketplace and society? A focus on both processes opens up opportunities for further research.
Practical implications – A contribution is that the CRM-model may be used as a guide for both PD and NP organizations in order to reveal whether a CRM-partnership is appropriate for them with a potential partner or not. It may also indicate whether the motives are based upon commercial reasons or altruistic reasons or a combination of both.
Originality/value – The model enables these organizations to think through the process prior to engaging in CRM.

A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability

This study applies the concept of the psychological contract to the relationship between management practices and volunteers. Formalization of the voluntary sector is impacting on volunteers’ experiences and may breach the psychological contract from the volunteers’ perspective. This mixed method study interviewed 67 volunteers and volunteer coordinators/administrators, and collected mail survey information from 152 volunteer organizations. The transactional management practices of keeping formal records and not paying volunteers out of pocket expenses are negatively associated with volunteer recruitment and retention. Alternatively, publicly recognizing volunteers through a volunteer newsletter supports volunteers’ relational expectations and is positively linked to adequate volunteer numbers. Our findings have important implications for the human resource development practices of non-profit organizations in dealing with their volunteers: they suggest that the relational expectations of volunteers are an important aspect of the psychological contract, which could be used by organizations as a framework for developing management practices that fit the volunteer ethos of trust and networks.

Fundacion Maquipucuna: an entrepreneurial Ecuadorian non-profit organisation

The purpose of this paper is to describe Fundacion Maquipucuna's community-based entrepreneurship activities. Fundacion Maquipucuna is a unique non-profit organisation in the Choco-Andes region of Ecuador. An ethnographic study and review of the literature is conducted to analyse the cacao, coffee, ecotourism and plastic thatch enterprises of Fundacion Maquipucuna. The enterprises Fundacion Maquipucuna is engaged in support the ongoing sustainability of the biodiverse ecological environment in the Choco-Andes region, which is one of the top five biodiverse hotspots in the world. On a global scale, more emphasis is being placed on promoting sustainability initiatives to preserve the environment. This paper discusses how a litre-government agency Fundacion Maquipucuna is changing from a non-profit to a for-profit structure in order to continue its community engagement projects. This paper integrates the social and community-based entrepreneurship literature to discuss how Fundacion Maquipucuna is engaging in innovative regional development that benefits the whole Choco-Andes community including the large Afro-Ecuadorian population.

The role of motivation in change management : an exploration of the not-for-profit context

While previous studies have highlighted the importance of knowledge enhancement in the social change process the motivation of key stakeholders has also been identified as playing a pivotal role. To gain a deeper understanding of this process a conceptual model, was operationalised to explore the mechanism where by knowledge enhancement might lead to behavioural change. In this paper we discuss the application of the social marketing framework MOA (motivation, opportunity and ability) with a particular focus on the motivation component of the model. Motivation is considered from the perspectives of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Although the degree or level of motivation has previously been used in the operationalisation of the construct for motivation, a deeper understanding of this construct is developed for an environmental program as an increasing number of environmental programs claim to have adopted a social marketing approach. The key objectives which are explored in this paper involve the development of MOA constructs, with a particular focus on Motivation, including Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. An understanding of the factors that increase the likelihood of ineffective behaviour and the development of a model to understand the behaviour change process. Scales were developed to investigate the relationship between the MOA constructs, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and the respondents control behaviour. Data were collected from a random sample of 566 respondents who were involved in a environmental land management program. Using ANOVA and MANOVA techniques, significant differences were found between compliant and non compliant stakeholders with regard to all MOA constructs. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this study with particular reference to environmental programs have adopted the social marketing approach.

Making sense of business intelligence : proposing a socio-technical framework for improved decision making in not-for-profit organisations

The authors of this paper argue that human intuition alone cannot be relied upon for strategic decision making in today’s business environment and that quality data intelligence is an imperative. The proposed project described in this paper is research-in-progress, action design research (ADR), to implement an appropriate information systems (IS) enabling enhanced organisational decision making. ADR is a new research method that draws on action research and design research in an organisational setting. In phase 1 of the project, a sociotechnical ‘sense-making’ approach is used to gather and analyse information and decision needs in a not-for-profit (NFP) association, Connections ACT. In phase 2, requirements are designed and modelled to build a conceptual framework that guides NFPs in improving business performance and reporting capability. Phase 3 is the evaluative stage when the framework is reflected upon and refined, with intervention in the organisation’s processes as a promising outcome.

Crowdsourcing motivations in a not-for-profit GLAM context : the Australian newspapers digitisation program

Crowdsourcing in recent times has become popular among not-for-profits as a means of eliciting members of the public to contribute to activities that would normally have been carried out by staff or by contracting external expertise. The GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) sector does have a history of involving online volunteers (e.g. reviewing books). Extending that tradition, some GLAM institutions are engaging in crowdsourcing projects to enhance and enrich their collections. But what motivates the public to participate in these crowdsourcing activities? Understanding the unique motivations of participants is needed to establish a motivational framework for GLAM organisations in their not-for-profit context. We present findings from a study of the motivational factors affecting participation in the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program (ANDP) by the National Library of Australia (NLA). Based on motivational theories and frameworks the study shows that the participants are motivated by a complex framework of personal, collective and external factors. Participants were highly intrinsically motivated, but valued altruistic and community motivations as well. Community and external factors played a vital role in their continued involvement. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework of the motivational factors for crowdsourcing participants in a GLAM context based on the motivational dynamics observed in the ANDP case.

Mission fulfilment : the role of the non-profit arts board

This research explores the complexity of establishing mission fulfilment through the performance of non-profit arts boards (NP AB). Since the early 1990s, the non-profit literature has only sporadically focussed on the concept of how board performance contributes to mission fulfilment in the broader non-profit sector. Consequently, in both the empirical and normative literatures there is a dearth of understanding of how the nonprofit arts board performance fulfils the organisation's mission. The lack of exploration is problematic for theory development in contextualising non-profit arts board performance contribution to mission fulfilment. Although research has been undertaken in various areas-such as effective and ineffective board performance practices of non-profit organisations, board performance measurement indicators within the arts sector, and mission fulfilment as a result of non-profit organisational effectiveness-research from an extensive literature search did not reveal empirical evidence of the relationship between board performance and mission fulfilment of non-profit arts boards. Against this background, the research issue for the thesis is: How does board performance contribute to mission fulfilment by the non-profit arts organisation?

Costs and benefits of mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia

This paper addresses the paucity of research surrounding the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia. We document the various mandatory auditing provisions under the Corporations Act and identify over 22 000 companies that lodge audited accounts with the regulator under federal law. In 2011, 6339 large proprietary companies, 186 small proprietary companies, 2797 foreign-owned companies, 3985 unlisted public companies and 8404 public companies limited by guarantee had an obligation under the Corporations Act to lodge audited accounts. While large proprietary and foreign-owned companies have an option to apply to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for audit relief, we estimate that less than 10% are granted audit exemption. We document that since 1995 an additional 1500 large proprietary companies that should have lodged under the size provisions of the Corporations Act have been granted exemption from doing so (i.e., grandfathered), although these firms appear to be subject to an annual audit even though they do not lodge accounts. We estimate the costs and discuss the potential public interest and firm-level benefits associated with the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia.

The relationship between market orientation, brand orientation and perceived benefits in the non-profit sector: a customer-perceived paradigm

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between ‘market orientation’, ‘brand orientation’ and ‘perceived benefits’ in the non-profit sector from the perspective of the customers. Data were collected from a number of church organizations in Australia using a self-administered questionnaire. The tests for construct reliability, validity and research hypotheses were conducted using structural equation modelling. Findings reveal that ‘market orientation’ is significantly associated with both ‘perceived brand orientation’ and ‘perceived benefits’. An alternative model also reveals significant relationship between ‘brand orientation’ and ‘perceived benefits’ through ‘market orientation’ as the mediating variable. The study contributes to the body of literature and provides practical implications for non-profit managers and church leaders alike. An organization that endeavours to build a strong brand and deliver relevant benefits to its members should ensure that it has sufficient understanding of its members and utilizes the various resources of the organization to deliver superior values to its existing and prospective members.

Profiling for profit : a report on target marketing and profiling practices in the credit industry

This report examines how many businesses make significant investments to purchase and develop customer relationship management systems. Given such investments, information about these systems is not widely available, but some publicly available information gives indication of the extent, and purpose, of the use. Recognising that lenders use customer information and highly sophisticated systems to target their marketing strategies, is the first step towards ensuring that these practices are taken into account in the development of consumer policy and law reform. This research was funded by the consumer advisory panel of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

River flows and profit flows: the powerful logic driving local news

The importance of local news is gaining traction with industry and in journalism scholarship. But there is a need for careful analysis of what it means to be “local” and how we might theorise the role and place of news organisations and journalists who serve local audiences. This paper draws on three qualitative case studies of local newspapers serving small towns and cities in Australia to generate concepts that can be used to deepen understanding about this form of news. Our research highlights that to be local is practical and embodied. It requires individuals, groups, organisations or institution to be anchored in a particular locale and have in-depth understanding of that place that has developed over time. We extend the scholarship of Pierre Bourdieu to suggest this may be understood as local habitus—a powerful set of dispositions and practical logic developed within a place—that the small newspaper is inherently tied to. Reading a newspaper is part of one's local habitus while an individual who possesses it in the journalistic field may have a significant advantage in their day-to-day practices. We suggest this theoretical lens can offer rich insights into the future of local news production across the western world.

Migrating swans profit from favourable changes in wind conditions at low altitude

Because energy reserves limit flight range, wind assistance may be of crucial importance for migratory birds. We tracked eight Bewick's swans Cygnus columbianus bewickii, using 95-g satellite transmitters with altimeters and activity sensors, during their spring migration from Denmark to northern Russia in 1996. During the 82 occasions where a swan's location was recorded in flight, average flight altitude was 165 m a.s.1. with a maximum of 759 m a.s.1., despite winds often being more favourable at higher altitudes. We also counted Bewick's swans departing from the Gulf of Finland and subsequently passing an observatory in the next major stop-over area 800 km further north in the White Sea, northern Russia, during the springs of 1994, 1995 and 1996. A comparison of these counts with wind data provided evidence for Bewick's swans using favourable changes in wind conditions to embark on migration. Changes in the numbers of birds arriving in the White Sea correlated best with favourable changes in winds in the Gulf of Finland 1 day earlier. Again, migratory volume showed a correlation with winds at low altitudes only, despite wind conditions for the swans being more favourable at high altitudes. We conclude that the relatively large Bewick's swan tends to gear its migration to wind conditions at low altitude only. We argue that Bewick's swans do not climb to high altitudes because of mechanical and physiological limitations with respect to the generation of power for flight and to avoid rapid dehydration.