Behavioural Orientations Of Non-Profit Boards As A Factor In Entrepreneurial Performance: Does Governance Matter?

Relatively little is understood about factors triggering entrepreneurial behaviour within organizations not driven by profit motives. Governance plays an important role in non-profits, particularly boards of directors. Integrating resource-based theory and entrepreneurial orientation research, we examine the influence of non-profit boards as strategic resources shaping the organization\u27s entrepreneurial orientation and performance. In particular, we focus on the non-profit board\u27s underlying behavioural orientations, or the extent to which the board is strategic, activist, conservative, and cohesive. Findings from a cross-sectional survey on arts and culture organizations demonstrate that three of these behavioural orientations impact levels of entrepreneurship occurring within non-profits. Higher levels of entrepreneurship affect social performance, but not financial performance. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Management Studies © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies