Risk Management in Public and Non-Profit Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The recent economic conditions continue to draw significant attention to the multitude of risks organizations face as they pursue strategic goals. Public and non-profit organizations (NPO) are not an exception when it comes to risks that can challenge their service delivery system and growth sustainability. Their unique features and limited resources require them to adopt and adapt different risk management tools and methods as compared to the corporate organizations. Specifically, the risk management approach adopted in public organizations and NPOs has not been significantly addressed. Hence, this paper aims to explore the development of risk management in public organizations and NPOs. By conducting a systematic review of literature, 12 papers published in the Scopus and Web of Science from 2010 until recent year have been selected and analyzed. Findings from the literature analysis found various types of risks occur in these organizations and demonstrate the factors and importance of adopting risk management practices. However, a holistic approach is still not diffused nor sufficiently developed in both public and not-for-profit sectors. Research on the successful delivery of risk management is still dearth, which creates a huge research gap thus still an area worth researching. The findings from this literature analysis suggest that an instrument or tool to evaluate the practices of the risk management system is required. Thus, this paper serves as the basis for further empirical research on risk management practices of public and non-profit organizations.