Persistence of organizational identity within interorganizational relationships

As the emphasis on interorganizational relationships increases, one fear expressed by nonprofits is that interorganizational cooperation would lead them away from their sense of mission. The concern about loss of identity prompted this research into whether, and if so, how, a community action agency embedded in many relationships with other organizations continually and increasingly maintains a sense of identity. A study of the words used to describe the organization across time and across organizational members, leaders, and members of the board yielded strong agreement on some of the organization’s characteristics. The implications of this type of organizational culture for leaders of nonprofits is then described.