As structural changes occur in the third sector, nonprofit organizations are facing a myriad of challenges ranging from increased competition for limited funding, to fewer volunteers and employees, in addition to cultural shifts in society which may jeopardize their very existence (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; McDonald, 2007). At the same time, governments are increasingly relying on nonprofit organizations to fulfil social needs, oftentimes engaging in collaborations within nonprofit-public service networks (Sandfort & Milward, 2009). Despite the necessity for collaboration to provide services in these settings, little is known about how nonprofit and public organizations actually engage in collaborative innovation and value co-creation activities (Herman, 2011; Osborne & Strokosch, 2013). Even less is known about the relationship between value co-creation via collaborative innovation in nonprofit-public networks (Guo & Acar, 2005; Osborne, 2013).
In order to bridge this gap and develop an understanding of the relationship between value co-creation and collaborative innovation in nonprofit-public service networks, we conduct a 3-stage, explorative qualitative study consisting of initial explorative interviews, two key-player workshops, and 28 semi-structured interviews to collect primary data of the victims service sector in Germany. Chosen because of the complexity of interactions between both public and nonprofit organizations, and their operational interdependency, the victim service sector is an ideal empirical setting for addressing this research gap.
We apply a qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2010) to all transcripts, protocols, and documents to identify the types of activities through which organizations involved in operational, nonprofit-public service networks create value for their clients. We also classify the collaborative innovation activities undertaken among these organizations, and identify the drivers and barriers thereof. The results are then used to derive a multi-dimensional framework of innovation in nonprofit-public service networks, extending current knowledge of how organizations involved in operational nonprofit-public service networks generate value and engage in collaborative innovation. Our results provide nonprofit and public managers guidance on how to improve their value-creation processes and successfully engage in collaborative innovation, thereby improving services provided and optimizing their efficiency.
References
Eikenberry, A. M., & Kluver, J. D. (2004). The marketization of the nonprofit sector: Civil society at risk? Public administration review, 64(2), 132-140.
Guo, C., & Acar, M. (2005). Understanding collaboration among nonprofit organizations: Combining resource dependency, institutional, and network perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(3), 340-361.
Herman, R. D. (2011). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management: John Wiley & Sons.
Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative inhaltsanalyse Handbuch qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie (pp. 601-613): Springer.
McDonald, R. E. (2007). An investigation of innovation in nonprofit organizations: The role of organizational mission. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(2), 256-281.
Osborne, S. P. (2013). Voluntary organizations and innovation in public services: Routledge.
Osborne, S. P., & Strokosch, K. (2013). It takes two to tango? understanding the Co‐production of public services by integrating the services management and public administration perspectives. British Journal of Management, 24(S1), S31-S47.
Sandfort, J., & Milward, H. B. (2009). Collaborative service provision in the public sector. Paper presented at the Oxford University Press.
Value co-creation, co-design and co-production in public services
