The study of nonprofit governance is coming into its theoretical heyday by incorporating a sophisticated understanding of its contingent and multidimensional nature. A systems view of governance acknowledges the interplay of internal and external dynamics on board performance. But empirically, large-scale, generalizable data that can test these concepts on board performance have been scarce. This study helps to fill that gap with a structural equation analysis of a national representative survey of member-serving organizations. The results suggest that board performance is associated with complex organizational and labor dynamics, and that performance metrics themselves are multidimensional. Furthermore, not all relationships with strong boards are directly measurable. Some appear related to indirect external market dynamics or healthy internal dynamics such as learning and self-evaluation.
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