The Antecedents of Nonprofit Board Interlock: A Longitudinal Examination on Network Structure, Homophily, and Organizational Attributes

Abstract

A board interlock creates interorganizational networks where organizations are interconnected via overlapping board of directors. Board interlock is important for nonprofits because of its potential to impact organizational performance through the flow of information, resources, and status. While much is known about the consequences of board interlock, little is known about the mechanisms underlying its antecedents. This study explores three types of predictors of board interlock: organizational, dyadic, and structural characteristics. Inferential network analysis of a 17-year-period panel of nonprofits demonstrates that network relationships are shaped by the existing network structures, such as the tendency for preferential attachment (e.g., a social preference to connect with those who are already well connected) and transitivity (e.g., a social preference to connect with friends of friends). Findings inform nonprofit leaders about how to bridge to a board interlock network by recruiting well-connected board members serving on multiple boards.

Leader interlocks in Swedish civil society organizations

“…The underlying assumption is that similar funding structures and operational activities entail similar sets of stakeholders and expectations concerning organizational performance from the external actors; and that inter-organizational collaborations through the association network can help organizations operate more effectively through exchanging relevant information and good practices. Yoon's (2023) study of American charity organizations in three cities identifies the strong role of preferential attachment in the formation of board interlock; i.e., organizations tend to share board members with a small number of very well-connected, "popular" organizations.…”

“…In order to project a network consisting of organizational links made through leader interlocks, the bipartite network described in the methods section has been transformed into a one-mode network consisting of organizations as nodes (see Willems, van Puyvelde, Jegers et al 2015;Yoon 2023). The links between the organizations thus remain and individual nodes are removed.…”

“…When in focus, studies have explored in what ways these connections improve certain organizational outcomes, such as grant allocation (Faulk, Willems, McGinnis Johnson et al 2016;Paarlberg, Hannibal & Johnson 2020), inter-organizational collaboration (Ihm & Shumate 2019), or in spreading board governance practices (Yoon 2022). Following the terminology by Knox, Savage and Harvey (2006), this study instead treats the network structure as an object of inquiry in itself rather than an independent variable explaining some other outcome, hence speaking to studies explaining how board interlocks are formed, rather than their effects (Willems, van Puyvelde, Jegers et al 2015;Yoon 2023). To our knowledge there are no previous studies of interlocking leaders among CSOs in the Swedish context.…”