Service-dominant logic and nonprofit organizations: A value creation perspective

This paper offers a theoretical analysis of the nonprofit organizations´ (NPO) phenomenon through the lens of service-dominant logic theory. Specifically, it focuses on donative nonprofit organizations (DNPO), perceiving firms’ relationships that involve the simultaneous pursuit of competition and cooperation. We posit that DNPOs should cooperate to incrust the donation mentality, assuming that institutions have the ability to control and shape human behavior by establishing behavioral patterns. Once this factor is institutionalized, a relational environment of co-creation value is established, and this is where DNPOs may be able to offer better value proposition in order to compete for donations. This study has revealed the richness and complex character of the research field of donation. Managerially, it offers insights about how DNPOs compete, which could assist managers to better handle their operand resources. We argue that if DNPOs understand the circumstances that make people donate and understand what type of value they are looking for, then these firms will be able to encourage people to become donors or to increase their contributions.