Valberedningens tysta påverkan : Individers motivation att agera till förmån för föreningen

The aim of the study is to increase understanding of why people participate in nomination committees as well as how such committees operate in Swedish non-profit organizations. There is a vast body of previous motivational research regarding participation in boards of directors. Although the nominating committees can have a major impact on non-profit organizations they have tended to go unresearched. Motivational factors for participation in nomination committees have therefore not been studied systematically. This explains the pertinence of this study’s primary research question: What are the motivational factors to participation in a nominating committee? By examining nomination committee’s practices, this study also aims at contributing new insights into the second question: How do nomination committees operate in Swedish non-profit organizations? The theoretical framework for the study mobilized a discussion about motivational factors, social capital theory as well as legitimacy theories, and these have informed the design of the instrument used for the collection of the empirical material. The data were collected using a qualitative semi-structured interview method. This allowed us to develop a deeper understanding of the research questions. This was achieved by using closely selected respondents with expert experience of nomination committees. The main findings of the study are: There are many motivational factors regarding ones participation in an nomination committee, although contribution towards the civic society and the organizations continuity were the main motivational factors. The study also developed a theoretical model explaining the nomination committees work processes. Through this study we hope to highlight and contribute to nominating committees in a larger research context