Who is this mask for? A critical case study of volunteer fire brigades playing (around) with NPM

• In Event: Embracing New Public Management at the organizational premises

Abstract

The dissemination of the concept of new public management (NPM) around the world has triggered a number of processes affecting and changing third sector entities (Schnurbein et al. 2018). Among the important effects of the influence exerted by NPM on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is their becoming more like business enterprises (Maier et. al. 2016). The positive consequences of these processes include an increase in NGOs’ organisational autonomy, financial stability, as well as chances of survival (Suykens and Verschuere 2021). Whereas, various threats may result from mission drift (Suykens and Verschuere 2021), reduced access to services for those most in need (Eikenberry and Kluver 2004) or bureaucratisation (Boon and Verhoest 2018). Hence, through “businessisation”, some NGOs can turn into “for-profits in disguise”, as they enjoy both tax and fiduciary privileges, while practically behaving like enterprises oriented towards profit making (Weisbrod 2000). As a result, the entire third sector is at risk of declining social legitimacy (Bogacz-Wojtanowska 2013).
In Poland, a special case of NGOs is voluntary fire brigades (VFBs), referred to as quasi-NGOs by some researchers (Adamiak 2013). This is due to the fact that VFBs operate within several different institutional systems and are financed unlike the other third sector organisations. Nevertheless, they constitute an excellent illustration of how NPM contexts and practices affect the functioning of NGOs.
Thus, the aim of our critical case study is to explore and understand the impact of NPM on the activities of VFBs.
In order to achieve the stated aim and to address the research problem of VFBs’ adopting specific attitudes and taking action in response to the impact of NPM on their operations, the following research questions were formulated:
1. What factors related to the introduction and development of NPM influence the activities of VFBs in Poland?
2. What attitudes and actions related to responding to the impact of NPM are characteristic of Polish VFBs?

To answer the research questions, we used the following research methods: in-depth individual interviews, focus interviews, direct observations and analysis of documents. To interpret the research results, we used the metaphor of the mask, which is understood according to the concept of an organisation as the theatre (Goffman 1959). Thanks to this, it was possible to recognise that the disguise used by VFBs allows them to implement various mechanisms (referred to as putting on a mask) intended to help them adapt to the changing environment in the way expected by the environment, without the necessity of simultaneously changing their fundamental values and mission. In this way, they sometimes become “non-profits in disguise” or “for-profits in disguise”, depending on the objective they want to achieve.
The findings are presented based on the analytical categories created by Dart (2004): (1) the business rhetoric of VFBs, (2) the business objectives of VFBs, (3) the business-oriented organisation of core and supporting processes in VFBs. This study contributes to bridging the research gap in the area of the consequences of the implementation of the NPM policy for the functioning of VFBs in Poland.

References

Adamiak, P. (2013). Ochotnicze Straże Pożarne w Polsce. Raport z badania 2012. Warszawa: Stowarzyszenie Klon/Jawor.

Bogacz-Wojtanowska, E. (2013). Zdolności organizacyjne a współdziałanie organizacji pozarządowych. Kraków: Instytut Spraw Publicznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

Boon, J. & Verhoest, K. (2018). On the dynamics of reform resistance: why and how bureaucratic organizations resist shared service center reforms. International Public Management Journal, 21(4), 533-557.

Dart, R. (2004). Being “business-like” in a nonprofit organization: A grounded and inductive typology. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33, 290-310

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Doubleday.

Maier, F., Meyer, M., & Steinbereithner, M. (2016). Nonprofit Organizations Becoming Business-Like: A Systematic Review. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(1), 64-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764014561796

Schnurbein, G., Pérez, M., & Gehringer, T. (2018). Nonprofit Comparative Research: Recent Agendas and Future Trends. Voluntas, 29, 437–53.

Suykens, B., & Verschuere, B. (2021). Nonprofit commercialization. In R. A. List, H. K. Anheier, & S. Toepler (Eds.), International encyclopedia of civil society. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_540-1

Van den Ende, L., van Steden, R., & Boersma, K. (2020). Fuel to the fire? The sensemaking of volunteer firefighters and public managers in the context of public reform. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 229-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-03-2019-0067

Weisbrod, B. A. (2000). To profit or not to profit: The commercial transformation of the nonprofit sector. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Authors

• Ewa Bogacz-Wojtanowska, Jagiellonian University

• Sylwia Wrona, Jagiellonian University