Mapping a transparent enterprise: an Australian third sector organsiation and understanding diverse stakeholders perceptions of intangibles

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) is an organization undergoing change within a transforming external environment. This context mimics broader reform issues affecting not-for-profit organisations in both Australia and internationally. The ARCBS sought to undertake a stakeholder value analysis in order to better understand the value the organization contributes to its diverse stakeholder groups. The study also intended comparing stakeholder perceptions of value in the activities of ARCBS. It sought to identify diverse and competing stakeholder needs and interests. The study hoped to better ascertain what priorities ARCBS should determine for its future. The study was carried out under a collaborative research agreement for ARCBS. The collaborative research team comprised of ARCBS, Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM), and Intellectual Capital Services (ICS). Ethics approval for the study was obtained from Macquarie University, ensuring that sound and proper practice was employed in the study. The research project was comprised of a mix of qualitative and quantitative data gathering. Qualitatively, the research involved interviews and telephone interviews undertaken largely by MGSM personnel in the latter part of 2001. The purpose of these interviews was to seek agreement among stakeholders regarding the attributes which most accurately describe ARCBS. This resulted in the building of a picture of ARCBS which was further tested in the next part of the study. The quantitative research process concerned a detailed questionnaire based on the composite picture of ARCBS. In the survey information was gleaned from representative stakeholder views about ARCBS value. This overall process constituted a broad group and focused study of external perceptions of the value inherent in ARCBS