Purpose – At present no satisfactory economic theory of non-profit organizational leadership exists. The purpose of this paper is to develop an economic theory of non-profit leadership and apply this theory to the problem of non-profit failure or “voluntary sector failure.”...

Unlike other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, economics has neglected leadership. This paper proposes that a distinctive leadership role is to facilitate the development of hope so that organizational members can sustain their commitments. The conceptual grounding for this...

Purpose – Alongside public agencies and private firms, non-profit organizations (NPOs) play a vital role in the delivery of human services in a number of advanced nations. The purpose of this paper is to advance a theory of leadership to try to explain how NPOs can overcome the various forms...

This paper evaluates key developments in the social capital literature over the past decade. It then examines empirical work on the purported the link between social capital and economic performance. Although these results indicate that good governance and social cohesion make a measurable...

Purpose – Alongside public agencies and private firms, non‐profit organizations (NPOs) play a vital role in the delivery of human services in a number of advanced nations. The purpose of this paper is to advance a theory of leadership to try to explain how NPOs can overcome the various forms...

Purpose – At present no satisfactory economic theory of non‐profit organizational leadership exists. The purpose of this paper is to develop an economic theory of non‐profit leadership and apply this theory to the problem of non‐profit failure or “voluntary sector failure.”...

Charles Wolf′s theory of government failure ignores the possibility that government employees may commit themselves to pursue excellence in public service as an expression of their hope in the quests of their agencies. Communitarian thought explains the function of hope in human motivation and...