Connecting for good: a case of NSO-NPOs partnership in China

Abstract

Drawing on a case study of three Non-Profit Support Organizations (NSOs) and their partnership with twenty Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) in China, this paper explored the formation and management of NSO–NPOs partnership under the guidance of the collaborative windows model. Findings suggested that the convergence of politics/society/economy, problem, organisational, and solution streams opens a collaborative window for a partnership. As collaborative entrepreneurs, the NSOs seize the opportunity and enact the formation of partnership before the window closes. Owing to the internal and external challenges faced by NSOs and NPOs after the formation of a partnership, the governance of partnership required modification. To maintain the sustanibility of the partnership, the NSOs, working together with the NPOs, developed their strategies to respond to the challenges. This study offers empirical evidence on the formation and management of NSO–NPOs partnership in China and sheds light on the sustainability of governance in non-profit sectors.