Managing Expressive and Instrumental Accountabilities in Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations: A Qualitative Investigation

Abstract

Various scholars have identified multiple sources of accountability in nonprofit and voluntary organizations (NPVOs) and have offered several typologies categorizing various streams of accountability. Only a few have attempted to offer strategies, however, to implement these differential forms of accountability. The study identifies multiple sources of NPVO accountabilities by engaging distinctions between these organizations’ instrumental and expressive activities. From a qualitative study in 16 Chinese Canadian NPVOs, three forms of expressive accountability and two forms of instrumental accountability are distinguished. The study further develops a two-dimensional accountability matrix for categorizing organizations into four types according to their levels of commitment to expressive and instrumental accountabilities. Lastly, by associating organizational and managerial factors with the task of balancing the two accountabilities, the authors draw conclusions and offer implications for managerial practice.