Nonprofit organizations-business co-creation as a consequence of relational norms: Can improve it with a business-like approach?

Abstract

Co-creation has emerged as an outstanding issue in today’s society. Mainly, research efforts have been conducted in business literature (particularly, following the service-dominant logic approach). However, there is a lack of theoretical and empirical studies that analyze value co-creation from the non-profit’s point of view; and, in particular, the strategy of value co-creation in collaborative relationships between non-profit organizations and companies is an under-researched topic. From the theory of psychological contracts, relational norms are considered a mechanism that promotes co-creation processes. Furthermore, the non-profit organizations have been increasingly becoming more business-like (through market orientation, venture philanthropy, corporate governance structure, entrepreneurial behavior, and professionalization) to improve the impact achieved with the development of their activities. Combining a thorough literature revision and a quantitative-based research with 205 nonprofits, The study attempts to identify to what extent the establishment of relational norms between NPOs and companies in their co-creation relationships is really conditioned by the business-like factors of the NPOs. Several implications are derived for non-profit managers, which will help them implement effective management strategies in their relationships with companies.