Stay or Exit: Why Do Nonprofits Maintain Collaborations With Government?

• DOI: 10.1177/0275074019867413
• Author: Yuguo Liao,Shuyang Peng,Jiahuan Lu
• Date: 01 January 2020
• Published date: 01 January 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074019867413

American Review of Public Administration

2020, Vol. 50(1) 18 –32

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0275074019867413

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Article

Introduction

There has been an increasing interdependence between pub-

lic and nonprofit organizations in service delivery and pol-

icy implementation (Bryson, Crosby, & Stone, 2006; Gazley

& Brudney, 2007; Milward & Provan, 2000; Salamon,

1995). By collaborating, public and nonprofit organizations

can pool their respective advantages in the advancement of

public values. Public organizations, for instance, are advan-

tageous in their relatively stable financial resources, profes-

sional knowledge, and democratic public priority setting

processes (Salamon, 1995). Meanwhile, nonprofit organiza-

tions can contribute nimble and flexible operations, service

expertise, and community knowledge (Salamon, 1995).

Together, the two sectors can produce synergistic effects

that each sector may not achieve alone (Huxham & Vangen,

2013; Salamon, 1995).

Given the scope and potential benefits of public–non-

profit collaborations, the public and nonprofit management

literature in the past few decades has devoted substantial

scholarly attention to examining various aspects of public–

nonprofit collaborations, including nonprofits’ motivations

to form collaborations with government (e.g., Gazley,

2010; Gazley & Brudney, 2007), the strategies and chal-

lenges in managing collaborative relationships (e.g., Ansell

& Gash, 2008; Kort & Klijn, 2011; Suárez & Esparza,

2017), the measurement of collaboration effectiveness

(e.g., Lu, 2016; Raab, Mannak, & Cambré, 2013), and the

evolution of collaborative networks over time (e.g.,

Heikkila & Gerlak, 2016; Provan, Huang, & Milward,

2009). However, one research question seems to receive

insufficient scholarly attention: once a nonprofit establishes

a collaboration with government, what factors would drive

the nonprofit to sustain the collaboration?

Such a question has significant implications for public

management. Under the governance models such as collab-

orative governance and third-party government, there is a

growing government dependence on nongovernmental

actors, especially nonprofits, to deliver services and achieve

policy priorities (Ansell & Gash, 2008; Bryson et al., 2006;

Salamon, 1995). However, when governments look beyond

their boundaries to seek nonprofit partners, they usually have

to confront a service market with a limited number of non-

profits that public managers can work within collaborative

service delivery (Girth et al., 2012; Van Slyke, 2003).

Admittedly, identifying and initiating a cross-sector collabo-

ration is not easy. However, once a collaborative relationship

between government and nonprofits is established, how to

maintain the collaboration over time presents an equally

important challenge. Indeed, relationship dissolution has

severe consequences for both parties, especially when they

867413ARPXXX10.1177/0275074019867413The American Review of Public AdministrationPeng et al.

research-article2019

1The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

2University of Missouri–St. Louis, USA

3Rutgers University–Newark, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Shuyang Peng, The University of New Mexico, Social Sciences Building,

Room 3022, 1915 Roma Avenue, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466,

USA.

Email: speng@unm.edu

Stay or Exit: Why Do Nonprofits Maintain

Collaborations With Government?

Shuyang Peng1, Yuguo Liao2, and Jiahuan Lu3

Abstract

Although the public-management literature has demonstrated a growing interest in public–nonprofit collaborations, it pays

little attention to the sustainability of collaborations. This study proposes that nonprofits’ intentions to maintain collaborations

with government are influenced by both instrumental and relational factors. Using a national sample of human service

nonprofits, this study demonstrates that both nonprofits’ continuance commitment and affective commitment play a role

in shaping their intentions to maintain collaborative relationships with government. Specifically, continuance commitment

is driven by the presence of a formal agreement and the dependence on government funding, and affective commitment is

shaped by distributive and procedural justice. The findings have implications for public managers to effectively manage their

collaborations with nonprofits.

Keywords

public–nonprofit collaboration, intention to continue collaboration, commitment, procedural justice, distributive justice