Do the Right Thing: The Impact of INGO Legitimacy Standards on Stakeholder Input

Abstract

International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are frequently criticized for failing to adequately represent or engage with grassroots stakeholders. Yet most explanations of this shortcoming have focused on factors external to the organizations, e.g., economic pressures that privilege donor interests. What has been largely lacking is an examination of the role of internal INGO characteristics. We address this by examining INGOs' legitimacy standards: how INGOs understand themselves to be doing the right thing and seek to convey that righteousness to others. Drawing on the literature from business ethics and organizational behavior, we show that organizations' self-selected standards of legitimacy are key drivers of behavior. Using an analysis of 57 American INGO websites, we identify 11 legitimacy types and examine their usage. We find that while most INGOs make a series of technical legitimacy claims that seem designed to attract donors, they simultaneously employ additional legitimacy standards that do not seem to be externally dictated. These additional standards generally prioritize adherence to a cause rather than stakeholder input. The findings suggest that challenges to INGO representivity or responsiveness result not only from external pressures, but also from INGOs' own choice of values.Résumé Les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) internationales sont souvent critiquées pour leur échec à représenter de manière adéquate ou à collaborer avec les milieux populaires. Cependant, la plupart des explications données à ce problème se concentrent sur des facteurs externes aux organisations, par exemple la pression économique qui privilégie les intérêts des donateurs. L'analyse du rôle que jouent les caractéristiques des ONG internationales est quant à elle inexistante. Nous corrigeons cela en examinant les standards de légitimité des ONG internationales, c'est-à-dire la manière dont ces organisations se convainquent qu'elles prennent les bonnes décisions et cherchent à porter cette vérité aux autres. À partir de la littérature portant sur l'éthique des affaires et le comportement organisationnel, nous montrons que les standards de légitimité choisis par les organisations sont les éléments clé qui dictent leur comportement. Grâce à une analyse de 57 sites web d'ONG internationales américaines, nous avons identifié 11 types de légitimités et examiné leur usage : nous avons découvert qu'alors que la plupart des ONG internationales exposent une série de revendications de légitimité d'ordre technique qui semblent destinées à attirer les donateurs, elles font simultanément appel à d'autres standards de légitimité qui ne semblent pas dictés de l'extérieur. Ces autres standards donnent en général plus d'importance à l'adhésion à une cause qu'à la contribution des parties prenantes. Ce constat suggère que les défis posés à la représentativité ou à la réactivité des ONG internationales résultent non seulement de pressions externes, mais aussi des choix de valeurs propres à ces organisations.Zusammenfassung Inte...

Educadores dão Sentido à Captação de Recurso para Carência Social no Impasse da Covid-19

“…As OSC's, ao mesmo tempo em que enfrentam crescentes exigências, a partir dos públicos com quem trabalham, por seus parceiros e pela sociedade em relação à transparência, prestação de contas, eficiência, gestão, qualidade de serviços e resultados que apresentam (Roche, 2002;Koppell, 2005;Schommer, 2013a;Meyer, Buber & Aghamanoukjan, 2013;Pallas, Gethings & Harris, 2015), são atualmente reconhecidas e valorizadas pelo trabalho que realizam junto às comunidades em que se inserem, por sua contribuição à produção de bens e serviços públicos e pela criação de formas conjuntas de desenvolvimento social e experimentação, frente à complexidade dos problemas que enfrentam em seus territórios (Taylor & Warburton, 2003;Mendonça, Alves & Nogueira, 2013;Armani, 2013;Teodósio, 2014;Krieger & Andion, 2014;Appe, 2015).…”

“…SCHEFER, SANTOS & MACHADO Neste contexto, as OSC's vêm buscando uma maior profissionalização, bem como construir formas de governança que aprimorem sua capacidade de intervenção na realidade social e sua relação com os diversos públicos, em muitos casos, gerando uma menor dependência do financiamento público, já que ainda é muito corriqueiro o atraso nos repasse de recursos governamentais e a descontinuidade e encerramento dos serviços, gerando atraso com pagamentos de fornecedores e colaboradores (Osborne, & Brown, 2013;Torfing, Sørensen, & Røiseland, 2019). No entanto, a profissionalização não é e nem pode ser um fim em si mesma, mas sim um instrumento para reforçar valores e propósitos que orientam a ação coletiva, bem como a confiança e o senso de pertencimento que vinculam as pessoas em torno dessas organizações e da causa que defendem (Freiwirth, 2012;Armani, 2013;Pallas & Gethings;Harris, 2015;Andion, 2020).…”

Civil Society Organizations: the Site of Legitimizing the Common Good—a Literature Review

“…Regarding the question of how legitimacy can be gained as a resource by civil society organizations, two main pathways are discussed (cf. Neville, 2009;Pallas et al, 2015): these have been described as bottom-up and top-down approaches to legitimacy (Walton et al, 2016) and as legitimacy by citizens and legitimacy by donors (Puljek-Shank, 2018). First, legitimacy can be achieved via the bottom-up pathway of constituent support, by assuring representation of the diversity in communities and groups (Bolduc, 1980;Chaskin, 2003).…”

“…), and many CSOs have responded to these pressures by narrowing or altering their mission (Froehlich, 1999;Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004;Jung & Moon, 2007;Maier et al, 2016). These efforts to gain or regain legitimacy reduce the representativeness of civil society organizations and can hamper their mission to pursue the common good (Abzug & Galaskiewicz, 2001;Aksartova, 2003;Pallas et al, 2015), as CSOs try to meet demands and expectations of actors with particular interests (O'Brien, 2010). Many authors see this as a threat to the nonprofit and representative nature of these organizations, and as a threat to the "common good.…”

Why work “at home”? Oxfam’s value-added and the UK Poverty Programme

“…Critical perspectives range from that of organisational theory in which INGO learning is examined (Kontinen 2018) to Post-Development approaches in which INGOs are encouraged to situate themselves in frames of social justice and global solidarity, beyond development (Schöneberg 2016). Legitimacy maintenance strategies reflect the heterogeneity of the sector and can include: visible commitment to 'costly effort' (Gourevitch and Lake 2012, 22), such as reforming and transforming governance structures over many years as in the case of ACORD (Fowler 2012); engaging meaningfully with 'grassroots' communities (Pallas, Gethings and Harris 2015), and acquiring expertise and knowledge (Thrandardottir 2016). In addition, more general NGO legitimacy strategies, including those to be pursued by local grassroots NGOs, include joining a network (Appe 2016) and improving impact (Jakimow 2012).…”