This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Widmer, C. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity, and Role Overload on Boards of Directors of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations

Division of Professional Programs at Elmira College

Much of the literature on boards of directors of nonprofit organizations is prescriptive; that is, it describes what board members are "supposed" to do. The research described here looks at how members of thirteen human service boards actually play their roles. The findings indicate that some but not all board members play the role of trustee as it is described in the literature, that some board members combine the role of trustee with other roles (such as worker, expert, or representative), and that some play other roles to the exclusion of the role of trustee. The implications of the findings for organizational functioning, board performance, and accountability are explored.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4, 339-356 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764093224006


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. E. Wright and J. L. Millesen Nonprofit Board Role Ambiguity: Investigating Its Prevalence, Antecedents, and Consequences The American Review of Public Administration, September 1, 2008; 38(3): 322 - 338. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. M. Stone and F. Ostrower Acting in the Public Interest? Another Look at Research on Nonprofit Governance Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, September 1, 2007; 36(3): 416 - 438. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. L. Callen, A. Klein, and D. Tinkelman Board Composition, Committees, and Organizational Efficiency: The Case of Nonprofits Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, December 1, 2003; 32(4): 493 - 520. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. J. Hindera and C. D. Young Representative Bureaucracy: The Theoretical Implications of Statistical Interaction Political Research Quarterly, September 1, 1998; 51(3): 655 - 671. [Abstract] [PDF]