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Administrative Coordination in Nonprofit Human Service Delivery Networks: The Role of Competition and Trust

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

Published online on

Abstract

Nonprofit human service organizations operating within the same regional network are often faced with dual pressure to compete as well as coordinate administrative operations (by sharing funding, staff, or space) to enhance efficiency. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that competing organizations coordinate, despite the risks. Trust, or perceived trustworthiness between two organizations may mitigate the negative influence of competition on coordination, however there have been few explicit tests of this hypothesis among nonprofit organizations. Drawing on quantitative data collected from a network of 36 nonprofit children’s behavioral health organizations, this article empirically tests how competition and perceived trustworthiness interact to influence administrative coordination. Results support the hypothesis that trustworthiness moderates the influence of competition on administrative coordination. Findings suggest that as competing nonprofit leaders build trust, the more their agencies coordinate their administrative functions. This study highlights the importance of leaders’ perceptions for organizational strategy.