Responsibility for Critical Events in Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

The commonplace view of nonprofit organizations sees the board in control and responsible for the governance and outcomes of impor tant events in the organization. This point of view is empirically examined by analyzing how chief executives of nonprofit organiza tions and their board presidents attribute responsibility for outcomes of critical incidents. The results suggest both chief executives and board presidents believe in the "psychological centrality" of the chief executive in a hierarchy of responsibility for organizational outcomes. The authors discuss how those in responsible positions in nonprofit organizations come to understand and explain the reality of their organizational experience and raise the implications for a theory of nonprofit organizations.