Membership Dynamics and Issue Coverage: Insights from Advocacy NGOs

• In Event: NGOs, IOs, and Human Rights Protection

Abstract

Why do some advocacy NGOs choose to specialize in particular issues? As the number of advocacy NGOs has increased, competition within this sector has become increasingly severe. Confronted with this challenging environment, NGOs stand at a crossroads: They can either spread their attention across many issues or concentrate on a select few. While there is abundant literature on advocacy NGO dynamics, there is a notable absence of conversation regarding the factors influencing an advocacy NGO‘s decision to specialize. Through extensive data derived from newspaper articles and NGO data, we argue that the composition and character of an NGO‘s membership play a vital role in shaping this strategic choice. Specifically, we find that membership-based NGOs tend to specialize in a particular issue, while non-membership-based NGOs are likely to address diverse issues. This is puzzling because one might expect that more people with diverse preferences would lead to dealing with a variety of issues. However, our results differ from conventional wisdom. We explain this discrepancy by drawing on organizational ecology theory. This research serves as a starting point for understanding one aspect of NGO behavior – issue specialization.

Authors

• Jinho Kim, University of Missouri

• Baekkwan Park, University of Missouri