Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African not-for-profit organization sustainability

Marren, Ingrid Vorwerk; Davis, Annemarie; Williamson, Charmaine M. Article Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African notfor-profit organization sustainability Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Marren, Ingrid Vorwerk; Davis, Annemarie; Williamson, Charmaine M. (2024) : Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African not-for-profit organization sustainability, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-22, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2323775 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/326129 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African not-for-profit organization sustainability Ingrid Vorwerk Marren, Annemarie Davis & Charmaine M. Williamson To cite this article: Ingrid Vorwerk Marren, Annemarie Davis & Charmaine M. Williamson (2024) Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African not-for-profit organization sustainability, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2323775, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2024.2323775 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2323775 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 04 Mar 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2147 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 5 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 ManageMent | ReseaRch aRticle Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2323775 Strategizing for survival – enablers of South African not-for-profit organization sustainability ingrid Vorwerk Marren , annemarie Davis and charmaine M. Williamson Department of Business Management, university of south africa, Pretoria, south africa ABSTRACT this article reports on research within multiple case studies of south african not-forProfit Organizations (nPO). the study modelled the enabling practices that managers and leaders of these nPOs deem necessary to sustain their service-led organizations in a changing and demanding environment. nPOs face various constraints affecting their survival, including those linked to people and talent, finances, resources, volunteering, and the ever-growing demand for social care. these constraints require managers and leaders of nPOs to identify enabling practices for survival, success, and sustainability. Daily routines in pursuit of strategies demonstrate apex fit-for-practice activities (a concept coined for this study) that include leadership, governance, organizational culture, resources and adaptivity. these activities translate into fit-for-purpose services for the ever-changing needs of beneficiaries. While corporates often focus on excellence and competitive advantage, the nPOs distinguished themselves through adaptable practices that instead met fitness criteria. this approach ensured the survival of nPOs in shrinking resource environments, and the continued service to beneficiaries. these enabling practices contribute to a conceptual model depicting the enablers for long-term survival in the nPO sector, as a novel contribution to the nPO sector, while also theorizing the nexus between fit-for-practice and organizational life cycle. Introduction not-for-profit organizations (nPOs) play an essential role in developing countries amidst widespread recognition that social needs continue to grow. the recent covid19 pandemic underscored that nPOs are on the frontline of crises to meet community needs, yet they often lack sufficient financial support despite the increased demand for their services (Deitrick et al., 2020, p. 1). grand challenges (efstathiou, 2016; Fielding, 2017, carton et al., 2023), such as global pandemics, forcibly remind society of these needs. While governments, and the for-profit sector, play important roles in meeting the needs of the communities, some needs are better met through nPOs (girei, 2023; Wellens & Jegers, 2014). Yet, declining funds, exacerbated by grand challenge fallouts, are a situational reality amongst nPOs, jeopardizing their sustainability. Many have dissolved while attempting to meet the much-needed demands in the communities. at the same time, the hyper competition for financial resources, mainly through grants, further complicates the realities faced by these organizations. What this means is that nPOs are not only tasked with meeting ever-increasing service demands in their communities, they simultaneously have to strategize to survive, while also undertaking extensive compliance requirements or changes driven by evolving donor demands (girei, 2023; lundåsen, 2014). there are multi-layered expectations, therefore, from these organizations, which operate with lean staffing and face increased pressure to deliver amidst highly constrained resources (asogwa et al., 2022; Banks et al., 2015). turning to popular management strategies on how to sustain not-for-profit organizations may have some value. consulting firms that specialize in turnaround or innovative management practices may also © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group CONTACT Prof annemarie Davis [email protected] Department of Business Management, university of south africa, Pretoria, south africa https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2323775 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 8 May 2023 Revised 28 January 2024 accepted 22 February 2024 REVIEWING EDITOR Maria garcia-haro, University of castilla-la Mancha: Universidad de castilla-la Mancha, spain KEYWORDS not-for-profit organizations; fit-forpractice; resilience; survival; organizational lifecycle; multiple case study; sustainability SUBJECTS strategic Management; leadership 2 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. be an option – but in a resource-scarce nPO (Batti, 2014), the available resources are most likely directed towards meeting the immediate needs of staff remuneration in order to service the community. essentially, nPOs present a line of argument that revolves around constant trade-offs, balancing the increasing demands for services against a continuous questioning of the optimal model for survival and growth (Batti, 2014; girei, 2023). Our in-depth familiarity with these dilemmas faced by nPOs, coupled with our collective drive to explore real-life accounts of what enables some nPOs to achieve strategic sustainability has prompted this research. Context informing the current study Our interest was not to affirm or refute what has already been established in literature in terms of management principles to guide nPOs. From the onset, we accept the universality of management principles and what they may offer nPOs. We believe that management practices need to be subject to re-evaluation prior to their application to the contexts prevailing in nPOs (hume & leonard, 2014). at the same time, we align with Pfeffer and salancik (2003) that the behavior of an organization, such as the longstanding nPOs selected in our research, can be understood by interrogating its context. given all this, we wanted to hear the voices of the actual nPO managers and leaders in order to draw our conclusions by aligning their perspectives with what we know about management principles and practices. Our research team comprised three qualitative researchers who have intimate knowledge based on experiences in the not-for-profit sector. the main researcher is a qualified physiotherapist with more than 50 years’ experience in management, advising different nPOs, and serving as founder member, volunteer, and executive manager at the stroke support group before retirement. she grew up in a family involved in volunteering, and after retiring continues to volunteer, often serving as a mentor to managers. the second researcher also grew up in a family of volunteers and had daily engagements with nPOs. additionally, she served as a custodian for a local nPO for several years and provided training to volunteers and workers within a number of nPOs. the third researcher has respectively served on boards and been a staff member of various nPOs, thereafter serving as a funding consultant and mentor for a wide range of local and international nPOs. Our research efforts were driven by our belief that gaining insights from the implied or tacit knowledge of leaders and managers in longstanding nPOs would provide opportunities to contribute to the body of knowledge on enabling practices for survival. Our view of ‘survival’ was aligned to dimensions of sustainability and adaptability for fit-for-purpose operations, grounded in persistence and persisting, a state of continuing, being resolute or steadfast. indeed, sustainability is used in the language, or etymological sense, and refers to an organization’s ability to survive or persist as a quality of ngOs (Banks et al., 2015; Batti, 2014). Variations of the word are: sustained, sustaining, and survival, which all mean longstanding, or of long duration. We defined ‘longstanding’ in terms of the number of years in operation, and our minimum criteria for selecting nPOs for our research was 30 years. in our study, we also move beyond being fit-for-purpose (i.e. delivering on the much needed social care services) towards a position of what we term, fit-for-practice for long-term survival. in addition to research on the application of management principles in nPOs, we confirm that research into nPO sustainability is not new (Batti, 2014; hayman, 2016; shava, 2019). the novel contribution of our study, however, is the granular lens that exploring daily strategizing opened up so that we could determine which enabling practices could be driven by over-stretched people over an extended period. how did these leaders and managers inhabit their strategy (Williamson, 2016) in meaningful ways so that the organization remained relevant, while also surviving during grand challenge times? Literature review a wide glimpse at research on nPO sustainability for the last decade identified, amongst others, Montgomery (2015), who asks academics to assist in evidence-based decisions for sustainability strategies. his study focused on long-term sustainability, as in the current study, and looked at the different leadership needed at different stages of the organizational life cycle. laurett and Ferreira (2018) cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 3 conducted a systematic literature review on the research dealing with strategies at not-for-profit organizations. the results convey strategy-related themes clustered around strategic management, strategic planning, strategy typology, innovation strategies, and the strategic management of human resources. according to laurett and Ferreira (2018), the focus of research since 2000 has been on improving the management of not-for-profit organizations. also, Fonseca et al. (2021) explored management and marketing strategies for survival amongst philharmonic bands as not-for-profit organizations. Fischer et al. (2017) examined a pilot initiative in which philanthropic funders invited and supported not-for-profit organizations in the pursuit of restructuring efforts. hatcher and hammond (2018) argued that not-forprofit organizations manage economic development differently than agencies directly controlled by local governments. Denison etal. (2019) examined the extent to which reliance on major revenue sources by not-for-profit organizations affect the magnitude of total revenue volatility. Millesen and carman (2019) considered capacities in not-for-profit boards. Mason (2020) considered the diversity and inclusion practices amongst not-for-profit associations. More recently, the disruptions in not-for-profit organizations caused by cOViD-19 were explored by newby and Branyon (2021). Within this journal, we noted that reporting on nPOs is not new. nkabinde and Mamabolo (2022) explored the strategies of social enterprises to guard against mission drift when faced with tensions from the funders. in 2022, noori et al. (2022) explored the effect of supply chain integration and challenges on nPO performance using evidence from afghanistan. earlier, Maguire and ntim (2016) evaluated the financial and compliance status of animal welfare nPOs using participants from the coastal carolina University in conway, south carolina. We believe the prevalence of research interests on nPOs within this journal serves as a catalyst to foster connections between researchers, practitioners and research with societal impact. When looking at research on nPO sustainability within the south african context, only a few publications were located overall. as referenced earlier, nkabinde and Mamabolo (2022) analyzed the qualitative experiences of 13 south african social enterprises and presented strategies to prevent mission drift. While singh and Bodhanya (2014) did not explore the sustainability of nPOs per se, they considered the adoption of systems thinking methodology, known as systems Dynamics, to examine nPOs. iwu et al. (2015) investigated the criteria for organizational effectiveness in not-for-profit organizations and used group interviews to obtain data. their sample was taken from the list of nPOs registered with the Western cape government Department of social Development. Martin-howard (2019) conducted qualitative case research to explore the barriers and challenges to service delivery and funding at a specific not-for-profit organization in south africa. Maboya and McKay (2019) determined the financial conditions nPOs operate under in order to establish the reasons for not-for-profit organization vulnerability. they conducted in-depth interviews with 10 senior managers in the sector and found that donor relations management and finding new or additional donors preoccupy the minds of the not-for-profit organization leaders. Montgomery (2015, pp. 26, 43) found that the sustainability of nPOs depends on their leadership, organizational culture, and decision-making ability. Montgomery (2015, p. 104) focused mainly on leadership and leaders’ abilities and reported that the managers of nPOs in his study needed to know how to maintain sustainability. the nkabinde and Mamabolo (2022) study found that social enterprises engaged in multiple complementary strategies to manage the tensions between themselves and the funders. the most critical strategy is prioritizing those social impact-oriented projects that enrich their missions. the study also found that by establishing partnerships with funders, social enterprises were able to employ social effectual logic to inform their decision-making. Maboya and McKay (2019) conducted their research by interviewing senior managers to examine the reasons for nPO vulnerability, and based on their findings, presented recommendations for financial resilience. their research results indicated that sa legislative restrictions made it difficult and expensive to raise funds. these restrictions led to a heavy reliance on donors and resulted in finances becoming the main preoccupation of leadership (Maboya & McKay, 2019). continuing with the sustainability theme, lettieri et al. (2004) found that the not-for-profit sector needs a strategy to overcome the complexity of its environment and the scarcity of resources. Merk (2014) highlights the need for revision and quick strategy adaptation to survive. Merk’s (2014) study focused on environmental factors, financial stability, and governance on sustainability, and listed 15 leadership attributes required to face the challenges of leading a sustainable organization. these attributes 4 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. included being inspirational, having a high level of integrity, having deep sector-specific knowledge, strategic thinking, financial acumen, and being a collaborative decision-maker. Further to succession requirements, leaders should possess these attributes and, presumably, have organization-specific knowledge. Viganò and salustri (2015) researched the interaction between the for-profit sector and the not-forprofit sector (nPOs). they found that, in an economic crisis, the not-for-profit sector was an alternative provider of employment. Breneol etal. (2022) conducted a scoping review to ascertain the translation of health system policies into practice. they identified strategies for adapting and implementing health system guidelines, related barriers and enablers, and indicators of success. their findings confirm the need for research to strengthen the evidence base for improving the implementation and adaptation of health system guidelines in low-and middle-income countries. Organizational lifecycle given our interest in the longstanding nature of nPOs, we found it appropriate and necessary to include the organizational lifecycle within our research enquiry. Within the organizational context, the organizational lifecycle comprises a set of organizational activities and structures that change over time as an organization grows and matures due to internal and external circumstances. Organizations may revert to previous stages or remain in a particular stage of development of progress towards decline or death. We recognise other researchers who already established the value of using the lifecycle for research on the sustainability of nPOs. For example, Montgomery (2015) proposed using lifecycle stages to guide the leadership required for each stage of nPOs to renew strategy. the introductory phase of an organization would typically involve developing a product or service, and the style associated with this stage is entrepreneurial leadership (Montgomery, 2015). after this stage, growth and maturity develop when customers become aware of the product or, in the case of the not-for-profit sector, the service, and choose or need to use it. additional financing and more services would require a different management and leadership style (Montgomery, 2015). according to lester, (2004), the organizational life cycle theory was based on growth and maturity. Development depended on leadership and the ability to transform the organization to stay viable. contributing factors to survival were organizational context, leadership style, and that small organizations are more geared towards sustainability than growth (lester, 2004). Phelps etal. (2007) found no clarity regarding the number of stages or the exact parameters of each stage. they compared the stages in the content of models and found consistent patterning compared with perceived growth in the different stages and named them start-up, expansion, maturity, diversification, and decline. For our research, the stevens (2001) version of stages, which she developed for nPOs were used, namely: start-up; adolescent; mature; stagnant; and defunct. Our primary interest lay in nPOs that are in mature and stagnant stages, as we aimed to identify enabling practices that sustain and prevent decline. During these stages, strategic practices should be implemented, and current strategic plans should be evaluated with a focus on renewal and reinvention in order to survive. Renewal would indicate a return, either to enter the growth phase again, or to maintain the mature stage. also of interest is that different projects may be at different stages of their own life cycles and could impact the survival and sustainability of the nPO in general. We did not aim to compare the organizational lifecycle with that of the for-profit sector. Our aim was to identify enabling practices by the participating organizations to sustain their services. Research setting south africa has a rich history of nPOs that have served communities by offering support, including some nPOs that have been active since the 19th century. examples of nPOs that may be well-known among a broader audience are, amongst others, the saVF, which was established in 1904, the catholic Women’s league, which was established in 1931, the sa heart and stroke Foundation, established in 1980, and the gift of the givers, which was established in 1992. Within the south african context, nPOs are required to register with the south african Department of social Development. the sa nPO act 71 cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 5 of 1997 (south africa (sa), 1997) governs the registration and governance of nPOs as a trust, company, or association of persons, sometimes called a voluntary organization (Va). such registration provides the nPO with legitimacy, and allows them to apply for tax and donor exemption status. On 3 October 2019, the nPO Register in the Department of social Development listed 220,116 registered nPOs in south africa (gastrow, 2019). By september 2020, 233 180 nPOs were registered with the Department. the annual growth in the number of nPOs may be indicative of increased societal needs for support. Our focus on the south african context is grounded in our local interests: the increasing demand for social care in a struggling economy with widespread government failure to meet the growing needs of the population and a highly unequal healthcare system. south africa’s public sector is underfunded, contributing to an inefficent and excessively costly healthcare system (Rensburg, 2021). also, nkabinde and Mamabolo (2022), confirmed that south african policymakers have not yet developed legal structures for social enterprises, which adds to the challenges faced by south african nPOs. Research problem, question and exploratory approach While we acknowledge the growth in nPOs and the increased demands for the services they offer, we also acknowledge that not all nPOs survive in the long-term. What we do not know is how longstanding nPOs have managed to survive while potentially facing the same or similar challenges of those who closed their doors. Put another way, we wanted to hear from the leaders and managers of nPOs that have been in existence for more than 30 years, what they see as the enabling practices that contribute to their sustainability. With our interest in nPO sustainability in general, and our duties as management scholars, we set out to bolster the literature around the embedded, tacit strategic knowledge of the sustainability of nPOs from the viewpoint of their managers and leaders. We also contextually aimed to understand how nPOs cope with and adapt to both external and internal challenges. this includes their ability to remain relevant or fit-for-purpose in the service delivery contexts in which they are situated. We also ultimately aimed to identify what fit-for-practice in the nPO context means. We phrased our research question as: What are the enabling practices of leaders and managers within longstanding NPOs, for survival and sustainability? We focused on the managers and leaders of five longstanding nPOs since we consider them as people whose practices could be strategic. Further, as scholars of the strategy-as-practice perspective, we set out to determine the what and how of strategy practice, as described in the voices of the selected managers and leaders of the nPOs. We set out to explore the normal, regular activities and how leaders and managers within the selected not-for-profit organizations responded to required changes while still delivering fit-for-purpose outcomes for governance and service delivery. We believed that a micro-level exploration of the lived realities of leaders and managers in longstanding nPOs would allow us to identify common themes and identify enabling practices and thereby contribute to the body of knowledge on how nPOs are able to remain sustainable. We situated our research within longstanding south african nPOs involved with social care in terms of supporting dimensions of poverty as well as people with mental or physical challenges. Only nPOs which were older than 30 years at the time of the research were incorporated in the research field because we believe that they have a proven history of sustainability or long-term survival and have been subject to changes in legislation during their existence. With a lifespan of at least 30 years, these nPOs may offer rich accounts of how they had to adjust to external and internal challenges. these adaptations may or may not have been connected with complex resourcing areas, such as: governance, staff and finances, legislative rulings, and changes in need of constituents to sustain services. Conceptual framing in our attempt to understand the enabling practices of leaders and managers within longstanding nPOs, we framed the study using the following central concepts (Figure 1). area 1 is enabling practices as lived out by the practitioners, and area 2 addresses the stages of the organizational life cycle. the study sought to discern the strategizing practices that enable survival and 6 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. sustainability within the organizational life cycle. the question mark was the ‘black box’ of the research in terms of what the enabling practices to achieve sustainability were, and to ultimately show what fit-for-practice entails. the main stages of interest in the current research therefore included mature-to-stagnant organizations. During these stages, we assumed strategic practices, and evaluation of current strategic plans should take place and be implemented with the view to renewal and reinvention to survive. Renewal would indicate a return to entering the growth phase again or to maintain the mature stage. complementary to our bespoke conceptual framework, we also reference the organizational lifecycle framing which we adopted for this study. We established area 2 upfront with our sampling of the nPOs as will be discussed below (Figure 2). Our focus, thus, was on the knowledge and views of the participants as they are practiced in real-world settings following daily routines, which followed their organizational lifecycle stage and which promoted organizational sustainability and survival. We took an active role in defining what practices are enabling and the consequences of the patterns constructed within these practices. We coupled the data to theory. through telling the story of this 5-year research project, we present the enabling practices and our assertion that nPO sustainability is enhanced through being fit-for purpose and engaging in fit-for-practice activities. Methods Our ontological assumption was that the research reality may be studied qualitatively through methodologies that use a situated and subjective stance, as recommended for strategy as practice theorising Figure 1. Conceptual framing. source: authors. Figure 2. organizational lifecycle source: adapted from stevens (2001). cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 7 (Melin etal., 2003). Being ontologically open to a subjective standpoint, we took heed of the participants’ voices to complement the tacit and embedded dimensions of our research project. to answer our research question, as well as to be sensitive to differing lifecycles, we opted for a multiple case study design that allowed us to analyse several sets of data from longstanding nPOs. stake (1995) indicates that multiple case studies offer the sites the opportunity to learn about differing complexities within a specific sectoral context, in this case, the nPO sector. the adoption of the multiple case design also meant that we were able to compare or dispute findings to uncover attributes or possibilities or to contribute distinctive factors stake, 1995). these attributes were first explored within each participating case organization and then we refined our examination to focus on similar practices and challenges across the selected 5 case organizations. We did not set out to do a comparative case analysis. We felt the multiple case design also enabled data to be examined within each participating case organization and across the selected 5 case organizations. Ultimately, the nPOs that participated in our research were not compared to measure their successes, but similar practices and challenges were identified, and contributing factors were explored. Sampling strategies: selecting the NPOs to participate in the research the selected nPOs were recruited from various searches on the web using keywords such as stroke, parkinsonism, or quadriplegia, to search for registered organizations and locate possible participating organizations. Desktop research was conducted to ascertain the establishment dates of the identified nPOs, followed by directly contacting the nPOs to confirm the inclusion criteria and get initial support for their participation. the sampling process to identify the nPOs for participation in the research commenced in 2018 and continued until 2019 when ethical clearance was granted. ethical clearance for this research was granted by the college of economic and Management sciences ethics Review committee at the University of south africa (ethics certificate: 2019-cReRc_010 (Fa)). Our inclusion criteria for the nPOs required south african based and registered nPOs; being active for a minimum of 30 years; and being active in the social care sector. each nPO was considered individually and represented by its leadership, whom we believed influences how the strategy is implemented to best fit the external and internal demands. each nPO and participant, respectively, provided informed consent for the interviews with two individuals in managerial positions within the nPO. We requested each nPO to give us access to two individuals in managerial positions within the nPO. We required participants who were the executive managers leading the management team on a daily basis, or managers with executive positions in finance, administration, human resources, special projects, or individuals who had previous experience as board members or managers. however, their willingness to participate was possibly the most important criterion, as they contributed their time and knowledge without any obligation. While the participating organizations had different structures and objectives, all served in social care and were registered with the south africa Department of social Development. such variation within a phenomenon could best be described as stratified, which helps for an in-depth understanding and provides diversity in the research and provides for in-depth explorations of a phenomenon (hesse-Biber & leavy, 2010, pp. 274–275). since the organizational leaders, as research participants, were from different levels of management with different service objectives, stratification was easily achieved. the five selected organizations helped produce adequate data to identify structures and patterns of practice within this context (Kleining & Witt, 2000). We are convinced that the participation of the five nPOs in our research was adequate, as this amounted to 10 individual interviews. The participating NPOs the organizations served different communities and had different structures, which allowed for general and cross-group saturation (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2009, p. 6) of the research field. all five organizations opted to stay anonymous. For reporting purposes, we will use descriptive words that align to the core nature of the service offered by the nPOs, i.e. nursing; care; housing; Mental wellness; and neurological disease. 14 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. the entire research field highlighted and demonstrated a specific way of performing their daily and recurring activities, such as training and problem-solving. aspects of the organizational culture were compassion and attitude towards the beneficiaries (shown as caring) and a determination to maintain service delivery despite the challenges. Problem-solving was part of the organizational culture, which developed in these organizations. This is a calling … you need to have a passion to drive it … you look at this person as an adult – he’s got beard, he’s old, he’s grey. You’ve told him once or twice or maybe thrice what to do: it doesn’t sink in. So, the staff gets frustrated and they don’t understand, but that’s exactly what we do. Organizational culture is shaped and affected by the kind of person involved in these organizations over an extended period. in this regard, integrity and honesty are essential, and work together towards the same objective. each of the participating organizations had a particular service objective, which was dependent on finances, professionalism, and training, among other things. the attainment of objectives in a service organization is largely dependent on the individuals who deliver the services. however, the success of these individuals is influenced by the organizational culture. There’s no turnover, they absolutely stick to their jobs even though we can’t compare to the Department’s salaries and benefits. training for newcomers toward organizational culture needs to be done through explicit instruction. Oftentimes, training is done implicitly for new employees to adapt to the organizational culture (Davies etal., 2000). training is done in the form of workshops, meetings, and seminars. it should aim to modify individuals’ mindsets and implement focused strategies to develop entrepreneurial-like characteristics and ways of strategic decision-making (neneh & Vanzyl, 2012, p. 8341). We don’t have the benefits like … medical benefit or housing, or a pension fund … but a member of staff returned to work here as she can manage her family before coming to work because of the atmosphere and how we do things. Resourcing practices to deliver the original objectives, the organizations maintained and developed the required standard of practice through constant training, developing teams, and recruiting volunteers. For the current study, resources were regarded as those means to aid and support services and provide and build the capacity needed to implement strategic objectives. Financial and human capacities are central to resources in the not-for-profit sector (see lewis etal., 2011). Practices in this section include planning, training, controlling, reviewing, marketing and volunteering. the challenges identified in this research were related to finances and service delivery, especially during personnel shortages. to overcome these challenges, the organizations might ensure an alternate income, and improve training and reporting to partners or sponsors (Khanal, 2006). Financial independence and best practice are linked to sustainability, with a balance between resources and objectives. independence is ensured by strict handling of finances, improved delivery of services, and adequate reporting measures (Khanal, 2006). Most of the challenges that emerged in the current study were related to finances, legal issues, and personnel. Financial provision for the services needed is a priority. at the time of this research, most projects were sponsored by external sources. Managing finances was indicated as essential for financial stability and independence (Montgomery, 2015; Merk, 2014). consequently, finances needed to be managed stringently. the manager within the nPO that caters for neurological diseases stated that she taught herself to do regular management and even daily transfer of funds from one section of the business to another as part of her fit-for-purpose management of survival. all the participating organizations emphasised that sponsorships are regarded as important, even small donations. a major concern of the research field was paying salaries, as personnel are key to all service deliveries. all the participating organizations indicated that they never failed to pay salaries. Paying salaries was a high priority part of their culture and responsibility, and their greatest expense to enable services. a concern of leaders was that funders need to realise that salaries are crucial and therefore essential when it comes to cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 15 funding projects. an important view expressed by several participants was that to address the challenge, the nPO could either become the preferred partner for the for-profit organization, or by adequate reporting for the public sector. additionally, they suggested that the nPO could focus on serving the partners’ objectives in the for-profit sector where there is competition for funding other nPOs. Financial stability is dependent on the partners, and therefore a culture of reporting strengthens the relationship and mutual trust between the partner and the nPO. Reporting to the Department of social Development is a legislative matter, and nPOs sign service level agreements for the subsidy of 50% of salaries. this reporting allows the Department of social Development to determine future planning. agreements between the nPO and the Department imply an obligation to report according to requirements of the DsD, which might change, often ‘a day or so before the reports need to be submitted’, according to one of the participating executive managers. the following quotes offer a glimpse into the realities of working with the Department. There’s a lot of pressure from the Department, which is our main financial partner. …you dance the tune they play… and The constant issue of funding keeps one from not sleeping at night. Related to financing is the need for the nPOs to provide an independent income. all the participating organizations acknowledged the importance of creating their own sources of income to make themselves less dependent on donations and partners. to stay appropriate in their service delivery, organizations have to determine continuously, and in conjunction with their partners, what the needs of the beneficiaries are, and to change their strategy or adapt their services accordingly, keeping available resources in mind. in addition to adapting to circumstances, the participating organizations engaged in new ventures and continuously coordinated the activities of their personnel and the processes that they followed to improve and adjust their services. all services had a financial implication; hence, the reason to aim for financial independence. the view of participating organizations was to develop alternative sources of income and manage those enterprises, and to retain their sponsors with shared objectives. Adaptive practices strategy outcomes are mediated by the documented planning and are often adjusted according to the daily changes in circumstances reported by the various role players, which are influenced by internal and external circumstances. the general finding was that strategic formulation was top-down but was influenced by reporting needs from all levels of the organization. Formal planning was generally done for three years because the participating organizations regarded the period as long-term owing to uncertain environments. all the organizations adapted their strategy or service plans annually to prioritise and adapt objectives. service plans are regularly required for funding from the Department of social Development as a partner. For the most part, finances and, to a lesser extent, personnel uncertainty, are the main reasons for constant review. this relatively short term may benefit the adapting practices and regularly renew the stage of the organizational life cycle. It’s much easier for us to manage a three-year plan because sometimes you can’t do things in a year… and you don’t know if you’re going to have money. We do strategic planning for three years and every year as well. … that we do as a work plan, our goals for the year these adaptive strategic practices focused on internal changes, such as training and providing adequate personnel, driven by the available funding and the needs of the beneficiaries. successful organizational strategies consider the needs of all levels of personnel and all governance and operational objectives from the bottom up, rather than enforcing them from the top down (Davies et al., 2000). according to Merk (2014), ‘top-down solutions are both ineffective and inefficient’ (p. 4). the strategic frameworks by participating organizations emanated from the board as a guiding and legislative directive, under the guiding influence of management. the development of their strategy is done according to the prescribed legislation and organizational architecture and has to be reported to the Department of social Development as part of legislative requirements. 16 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. given the complexities in this sector and the various crises that develop, nPO leaders and managers are tasked with strategizing in a messy reality where, for example, the covid-19 pandemic affected their sponsors, which had direct implications affecting all future strategic planning. crises can be immediate, unpredictable, and have shortor long-term effects which all require immediate adapting with possible long-term implications. apart from one participant who said their management is always in crisis mode, all participants confirmed that all kinds of incidents happen incessantly, requiring immediate strategic responses (practices), which affected linear strategic implementation. continued adapting is in line with our view of non-linear strategic implementation. the sustainability of an organization lies in its performance in response to changes and challenges (Bell et al., 2012; Kazlauskienė & christauskas, 2008, p. 23). scholars confirm that ‘companies are striving to achieve long-term benefit by adopting sustainability activities as core of corporate strategy’ (goyal et al., 2013, p. 362). the practices identified were first measuring outcomes and then adapting services. We saw that needs of the communities changed, so we changed. When the Department moved into that area, we moved over to another area [township name withheld] where there were no services. and Stay focused on what we can do and what we are doing, and don’t make plans for huge things that we can’t do. Focus on doing on what we have to do in this environment adaptive practices involve rethinking and relearning when strategy and resources change while keeping the focus on the core vision. the participants indicated that external and internal environments affect the ability and need to adapt. some of the adaptive practices for financial stability were evident and altered the structure due to financial strain. changes were made in service delivery to accommodate changes in external and internal environments. We all adapt our routines to accommodate what is asked for, what is needed. We are adaptable, and I think change is inevitable … also important is that we have never changed our core business. We have stuck to our core business. all nPOs showed the ability to change their objectives and structure, while retaining vision veracity. however, if they face difficulties due to inadequate capacity, they cease operations. the participating organizations focused on and planned towards future objectives and made plans to improve their financial position. Future planning was regarded as essential, as the beneficiaries’ needs change continuously. adapting strategic objectives to the needs of people in the environment has a positive influence of renewal on the organizational life cycle, as the adjusting operations prevent projects from stagnating or becoming inappropriate. there were examples of major adapting measures, in agreement with the view that resilience in an organization responds to disruptive events and involves the ability to withstand disjointedness (Burnard & Bhamra, 2011). the ability to re-direct and re-assess aids renewal. Objective planning is also important in developing and appointing personnel to enhance the commitment of individuals and strengthen the organizational culture. Resilience is regarded as an intangible part of an organization. it is influenced by external and internal environments (Willcoxson & Millett, 2000, p. 93), intellectual and moral discipline, and training (hayward & sparkes, 1984, p. 273). Resilience relies on the presence of goals and objectives (vision), decision-making processes, reward systems, and compliance with requirements, such as behavior, communication, and interaction with external elements. Resilience implies adapting to circumstances; it depends on the reaction of personnel, commitment, and leadership. the adapting capabilities, priorities, management styles, and other organizational factors affect both organizational culture and life cycle, and they may change over time (tam & gray, 2016, p. 18). Resilience as adaptive practice featured strongly in the analysis and will be further discussed as part of extending the organizational life cycle. We established early on that participating managers agreed that their organizational strategies need to be adapted toward the current needs in the community. Based on our research, we define fit-forpractice as the synergistic collation of the organizational vision or mandate or purpose, the needs in the cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 17 community it serves, the nPO’s position in the organizational lifecycle, the internal and external variables, and the optimal alignment between the leadership style, the organizational culture, and the activities. Fit-for-practice requires an inherent ability, and a willingness, to adapt to change. such adapting practices or strategic fit is an operational positioning in accordance with the internal and external environment. Participants in this research mentioned continuous adapting measures when any aspect of their governance, service delivery, and resources was affected. Willcoxson and Millett (2000, p. 93) also found resilience to be dependent on the reaction to changes in external and internal environments, and on the way humans react during adapting to changes. adapting was seen by participants as a constant reaction and as part of their organizational culture. We are struggling to generate sufficient income to source relevant, capable staff and maintain the campus. Income from fees and [DSD] grant alone is not enough… Organizations in the current study attained resilience by adapting service to reach new goals and objectives through decisively changing direction and altering processes and behavior to align with external requirements. in the same vein, some theorists describe resilience as adapting to circumstances by the positive reaction of personnel, commitment, and leadership (Maull et al., 2001, p. 1; Pinho et al., 2014). adapting capabilities and other organizational factors positively affect and alter the organizational life cycle, as endorsed by tam and gray (2016, p. 18). adaptation that results in resilience is essential for survival and sustainability in the service level, as discussed in the section on renewal practices within the organizational life cycle. Resilience although resilience could occur in different stages of the life cycle to sustain services, in this instance of older organizations, the practice was found in the more established phases of the life cycle, reflected as the area above the dotted line in Figure 3. We present, on a novel level, the stage of resilience with its attendant renewal, as the infinity symbol – ∞ –to indicate a continuous practice of iterating to reassess, retrain and adapt the internal environment to maintain fit-for-purpose around the particular services rendered in the external environment. in this formulation, it is resilience that defines survival or sustainability. identifying resilience and renewal, at this stage of the lifecycle, while concluding that an integrated system of practices contributes to the survival and sustainability of an organization, are our modest contributions to theory. Resilience comes from adapting to needs, reviewing and renewing services, and even expanding the scope of the nPO to extend the organizational lifecycle in response to societal need. We conclude that the enabling practices towards nPO sustainability or resilience are situated in fit-forpractice leadership, governance, organizational culture, resources, and adaptability, which ultimately contribute to an extension and a renewal within the organizational lifecycle. Figure 3. Five enabling practices lead to nPo resilience. 18 i. VORWeRK MaRRen et al. Our findings revealed enabling practices that aid nPO sustainability. Our account of the enabling practices, based on our analysis of data gathered from managers and leaders of longstanding nPOs, provides nPO boards and managers with practical guidance to aid them towards survival. We confirm that there is no one easy answer to sustainability, and accept that nPO sustainability is a complex system of integrated practices and contributions that are aligned to unique contexts. leaders are the main role player or driving force in the quest for survival. For practices to be enabling, they need to be balanced by the organizational knowledge, the consideration of needs of the communities being served, and the rules that govern operations. We’re going to stay as we are until we get money for whatever other project we want to do. Conclusion this article reported on our research where we explored sustainability from the perspectives of longstanding nPOs. however, it is equally important to explore the flip side of the coin – to understand the factors that contribute to the closure or failure of nPOs. additionally, the observations and lived experiences of beneficiaries may offer a voice to what they believe nPO sustainability means. a subsequent research phase may involve long-standing nPOs to evaluate the impact of grand challenges and how these nPOs ‘coped’. Furthermore, to enhance leadership theory’s role in creating value, investigating specific leadership styles and individual attributes could offer valuable inputs for succession planning and appointments. While our approach contributes to the understanding of nPO sustainability, we acknowledge some limitations in our overall approach. the sample size was confined to five willing nPOs providing social care services for at least 30 years. the participants were leaders or managers who were responsible for delivering a service to specific beneficiaries. the study was not extended to nPOs delivering services in other contexts. this restriction was based on the criteria of willing nPOs that met specific conditions and agreed to participate within a defined timeframe. the study adopted enabling strategic practices as its theoretical lens, employing a qualitative approach, and it is important to recognize that alternative theories and methodologies may provide different perspectives. Our research extended the management theory of enabling practices within the nexus of life cycle stages using south african nPOs associated with social care as the context. holistically, the research has extended management research through bringing together a confluence of two theoretical, yet also quite pragmatic, perspectives: strategy as Practice and Organizational life cycle. through identifying a critical strategizing ‘set’ associated with the mature, sustainable stage of the life cycle, management scholars and practitioners gain insights into how a niche public good, in the case of nPOs, may be formulated, practiced and maintained. While this research has focused on the third sector, there is the potential analytical potential to translate these lessons learned to the private sector and identify those applicable strategizing sets that sharpen for-profit sustainable competitive advantage. through thoughtful disaggregation into the micro strategizing pathways of intent (governance, for instance being broken down into daily oversight mechanisms for accountability, as an example), the five practices could become accessible for strategic formulation and planning providing staff with anchor points for their daily praxis. Furthermore, the practices uncovered show a useful balance between stable or ‘tight’ organizational dimensions alongside the unavoidable but generative ‘loose’ complexity dimensions needed to manage within the current and future global order. specifically, having a deeper understanding of these strategizing practices provides knowledge on the leadership qualities needed in the different stages of the organizational lifecycle and, crucially, differentiated the notion of resilience spanning specific stages. Ultimately, such knowledge may be important for survival and nPO capability. Our findings also confirm the assertion of Montgomery (2015) that the sustainability of nPO depends on quality leadership. the current study contrasts with the usual sustainability research, which normally has a financial objective and pertains to the for-profit or environmental sectors. nPO sustainability is informed by enabling practices situated in an inherent ability and willingness to adapt to change as organizations inevitably move through the parallel inevitabilities of time and change. the study has gone some way to opening the ‘black box’ of the research and to elucidate the enabling practices which achieve sustainability, and ultimately show what fit-for-practice entails. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 19 Disclosure statement no potential conflict of interested is reported by the author(s). About the authors Ingrid Vorwerk Marren is an independent consultant of Business Management. she has practical experience of management in different settings: physiotherapy departments in state hospitals, a private physiotherapy practice, national professional organizations, and as executive manager of a non-profit organization. ingrid is registered at the University of Pretoria as a volunteer to mentor students. she is also a volunteer advisor to sMes in need of strategic guidance. she conducted her research for a PhD at the University of south africa on survival strategies of non-profitable organizations using the strategy-as-practice perspective. Annemarie Davis is an associate professor in strategic Management in the Department of Business Management at the University of south africa. she conducted her doctoral research on middle managers using the strategy-as-practice perspective. she is a qualitative researcher with a focus on micro-strategizing practices, and favours studies on organizational change and the middle manager context. Charmaine Williamson is currently an academic advisor to universities around higher Degrees (PhD and M) candidates in the fields of academic argument, writing, theory, and qualitative methodologies, including facilitating atlas. ti support. she has also worked with not-for-profits in terms of good governance and fundraising. she also has an appointment at the Business school of netherlands in international Management. she is a Research Fellow at the University of south africa. she has published several peer-reviewed articles/chapters and is an associate editor of the international Journal of Multiple Research approaches. ORCID ingrid Vorwerk Marren http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9572-8026 annemarie Davis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2137-2597 charmaine M. Williamson http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-0541 References asogwa, i. e., Varua, M. e., Datt, R., & humphreys, P. (2022). the impact of cOViD-19 on the operations and management of ngOs: Resilience and recommendations. 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