The distinctiveness of smaller voluntary organisations providing welfare services

Dayson, C., Bennett, E., Damm, C., Rees, J., Jacklin Jarvis, C., Patmore, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-7097-5394, Baker, L., Terry, V. and Turner, K., 2022. The distinctiveness of smaller voluntary organisations providing welfare services. Journal of Social Policy. ISSN 0047-2794

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Abstract

This article presents empirical findings about the distinctiveness of smaller voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) involved in welfare service provision, based on in-depth, qualitative case study research. We identify a series of organisational features and practices which can mean that smaller VSOs are distinctive from larger organisations. These include how they are governed and managed, their approach to their work, and their position relative to other providers. To explain our findings, we draw on the concept of stakeholder ambiguity. This idea was posited by Billis and Glennerster (1998) and is commonly cited in relation to distinctiveness. We identified several manifestations of stakeholder ambiguity and confirm the concept’s explanatory importance, although we argue that our understanding of distinctiveness is enhanced when stakeholder ambiguity is considered alongside other closely related features, such as being embedded in a local geographic community and informal familial care-based organisational cultures. Our findings also highlight the fragility of smaller VSOs. We argue that this combination of distinctiveness and fragility creates a tension for social policy makers, many of whom recognise the value of smaller VSOs and the risks that they face but must weigh this against a requirement to allocate resources for statutory services as effectively as possible.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Social Policy
Creators:	Dayson, C., Bennett, E., Damm, C., Rees, J., Jacklin Jarvis, C., Patmore, B., Baker, L., Terry, V. and Turner, K.
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Date:	15 February 2022
ISSN:	0047-2794
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1017/s0047279421000970 DOI 1782910 Other
Rights:	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	20 Jul 2023 07:58
Last Modified:	20 Jul 2023 08:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/49400

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