Nonprofit Sector Rationalization: Measurement and implications for nonprofit finance and evaluation

Abstract

This dissertation explores the relationship between process formalization or rationalization and resources among U.S. nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in international contexts. The first paper defines rationalization and explores the rationalization of rationalization itself, or meta-rationalization, by analyzing global standard-setting documents. I use structural topic modeling to identify six expressions of meta-rationalization and analyze distinctions across four domains of focus. The findings suggest that competing accountabilities would impose resource constraints when NGOs comply with multiple standards. The second paper proposes a rationalized approach to classifying in-kind donations of goods and services, This taxonomy is designed to provide data that enhances understanding of what resources are necessary to deliver programs, improve program replication and scaling, compare subjective valuations, and improve organizational measures and theory building. In the third paper, I present a flexible method of measuring rationalization using publicly available data. I apply this method to a set of health nonprofits to identify what contributed service resources would most benefit performance.