Resilience of Non-Profit Organizations: An Assessment from Pakistan

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in an open environment, depend upon external sources for funds and resources to perform robustly. Changes in external environment and internal deficiencies lead to face adverse impacts and collapse of organizations. Very few organizations manage to recover from losses, take advantage from situations and evolve stronger than before. Resilience provides strength to NGOs and help obtain positive future prospects under crisis situations. Resilient NGOs manage disruptions and support communities by delivering services efficiently. The study aims to enhance understanding of dynamics and nature of resilience of NGOs. Using quantitative and primary data collection method through structured questionnaire, the study empirically investigates effect of factors including transformational leadership that promotes organizational learning, management development, ethics training, systems thinking and social capital and political instability, as an external factor, on resilience of NGOs. Data have been collected from sample of 200 managerial level employees working in NGOs of Lahore, Pakistan. The research findings conclude that transformational leadership has a significant positive effect on organizational resilience, whereas, the indirect effect of transformational leadership in the presence of organizational learning as mediator is insignificant, thus, exhibit insignificant mediation. Moreover, organizational learning has an insignificant effect on NGOs’ resilience. Management development significantly and positively affects development of resilience of NGOs, whereas, ethics training has been found to have insignificant contribution towards sustainability of non-profit sector. Systems thinking and social capital having positive impact, increase organizational adaptability, competitiveness and growth of NGOs. However, political instability being an external factor has a significant negative effect on organizational resilience thereby, deteriorate the ability of NGOs to build capacity and recover from failures.