Forces Shaping the South Korean NGO Sector and Their Impacts on the NGO Accountability

Forces Shaping the South Korean NGO Sector and their Impacts on the NGO Accountability Environment

Bok Gyo Jonathan Jeong, University of Pittsburgh

This research attempts to identify the major societal and strategic forces that are shaping the development of South Korea’s nongovernmental sector as perceived by NGO (Non-governmental organization) leaders and managers. South Korean NGOs have evolved through addressing various tensions and managing diverse expectations (Cho, 2007; Kim, 2006; Park, 2001). In other words, the main features in the management of South Korean NGOs tend to change depending on the main impulses the South Korean NGOs address.
The study begins with a reflection on Lester Salamon’s theoretical framework (Salamon, forthcoming), which specifies four “impulses” that have historically exerted pressure on the U.S. nonprofit sector and, consequently, shaped its present structure and behavior. Salamon’s four impulses, namely civic activism, voluntarism, professionalism, and commercialism, may have effects on the main aspects of the management and policy decisions of the leaders and managers in South Korean NGOs. Voluntarism means the utilization of voluntary sources and individual philanthropy for the expression of values and transformation of individuals. Professionalism focuses on the enhancement of specialized personnel and administrative capabilities of nonprofits as a goal and strategy. Civic activism highlights the social change brought by citizens’ participation and advocacy roles. Finally, commercialism takes an entrepreneurial approach utilizing business-like skills with an orientation for increased efficiency. The four impulses’ relative importance will be different and other types of impulses might be added based on different role expectations in the society.

My first research question is: what are the impulses shaping the South Korean NGO sector? I seek to discover whether Salamon’s framework is transferable to the South Korean context. My research delves into the universalities and particularities of these driving forces that South Korean NGOs face.

I am particularly interested in how the identified impulses are reflected in the way NGO leaders construe their stakeholders and their accountability environments. Narrowing down my focus, I move on to the following second research question: what accountability obligations do NGO leaders consider with respect to the identified impulses? For the purpose of this study, accountability is defined as the management of diverse expectations of NGO stakeholders, adopting the theoretical framework of nonprofit accountability that emphasizes stakeholder expectations on nonprofit management (Kearns, 1996; RomzekDubnick, 1987). This study focuses on how NGO leaders and managers align the organization with perceived expectations of stakeholders. This study also examines what accountability mechanisms (to whom they are accountable and for what, for example) NGO leaders and managers use while addressing the identified impulses.

Regarding the research methods, this study is comprised of two phases, employing mixed methods of the Repertory Grid and organizational surveys. In phase I, Repertory Grid Technique (with stakeholders as “elements”) is employed to elicit values and assumptions that NGO leaders have about their organization’s accountability. Kelly (1955) developed a method that helps respondents generate constructs reflecting their own understanding of the world and social phenomena. The respondents build up constructs while they compare the presented elements by embodying the underlying commonalities that make some subgroups distinguishable from others. This method brings ideas from the ground by using the words of the people in the field. Through this method, I identify what some NGO leaders believe to be the driving forces impacting their accountability environments.

In phase II, I use organizational survey methods for the generalization and validation of the findings on the identified impulses with a broader group of NGOs. The survey asks NGO leaders to validate the driving forces and identify how they respond to these forces. It asks a large number of NGO leaders if they agree with the impulses identified in phase I. It also investigates how individual NGOs’ answers to questions like “to whom are they accountable and for what” affect their stance on their strategies of addressing the identified impulses.

In a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the literature on scanning the South Korean NGO sector by focusing on the main impulses. It extends Salamon’s framework by highlighting both the universalities and particularities in NGO management. Furthermore, this study provides practical policy implications for nonprofit organizations in terms of their approach to manage the diverse expectations of stakeholders as well as the educational focus on the ethics and practical skills of managers.
References
Cho, D. (2007).Social movement & Non-governmental Organizations in South Korea. Seoul: Arche.
Kearns, K. P. (1996). Managing for accountability : preserving the public trust in public and nonprofit organizations (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Kelly, G. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs ([1st ed.). New York,: Norton.
Kim, J. K. (2006). Government and NGO. Seoul, South Korea: Pakyoungsa.
Park, S. P. (2001). NGO and contemporary society. Seoul: Arche.
Romzek, B. S., & Dubnick, M. J. (1987). Accountability in the public sector : lessons from the Challenger tragedy.
Salamon, L. M. (forthcoming). Four impulses shaping the future of nonprofit America. In L. M. Salamon (Ed.), The state of nonprofit America (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.