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The Changing Role of Nonprofits in the Network Economy
Dov Te'eni
Tel-Aviv University
Dennis R. Young
Case Western Reserve University
The new network economy presents fresh challenges to nonprofit organizations. Some of the relative advantages nonprofits now enjoy, compared to business and government, in providing services characterized by information asymmetry and public goods characteristics are likely to be eroded by changes in information technology. At the same time, the network economy also offers nonprofits special opportunities, including a role as trusted intermediaries to help people cope with a deluge of complex information. This article applies economic theory to derive expectations of the changing role of nonprofits in the information age and considers how nonprofits can respond effectively to the new circumstances.
Key Words: nonprofit organizations • network economy • economic theory • strategy • information • Internet • intermediaries
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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 3,
397-414 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764003254900
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