Within-study comparisons (WSCs) compare quasi-experimental results to an experimental benchmark and assess the extent to which quasi-experiments (QEs) sacrifice internal validity for external validity. WSCs inform decisions about when to use experiments or QEs, as well as methodological decisions (e.g., covariate selection) about how to implement QEs when they are necessary or preferred. We review the methodological literature on WSCs and present the findings from a WSC of a school voucher program as an example of the use of WSCs to inform policy debates involving the third sector. Prior literature and our results suggest that QE evaluations of third-sector institutions can produce low levels of bias, but only if analytic models include key proxy variables for voluntary self-selection into programs.

Volunteer management practices have been shown to have positive effects on employees in terms of skill development, job success, organizational identity, and morale in the public, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. Despite considerable research on volunteering, questions remain about how management practices of volunteer programs may affect volunteer performance. Leveraging data comparing self-enrolled and corporate-recruited volunteer mentors into a large-scale online program for entrepreneurs, this study measures the impact of institutional support on volunteer intensity, persistence, and quality. It also presents a novel way to measure volunteer quality through sentiment analysis to measure the tone of online messages, an emerging statistical technique. Findings suggest that a high level of institutional support leads to higher quality mentor engagement, compared to self-enrolled volunteers, while a low level of support leads to mentor quality much lower than self-enrolled volunteers.

Endogeneity is often regarded as a key barrier in establishing the causal relationship between the third sector and its societal impact in empirical research. Through a systematic literature review of the quantitative studies on the third sector’s impact in the last two decades, we find that most quantitative studies of the third sector’s societal impact are published in journals outside main third sector journals. We also offer specific examples of how recent methodological advancements in addressing endogeneity help third sector researchers better solve this problem. Based on the analysis of this literature review, we recommend that third sector scholars should (1) refocus on the big question of the third sector’s impact on society, (2) catch up with the methodological advancement in addressing endogeneity, (3) be creative and transparent about addressing endogeneity, and (4) build better theories to link the third sector to broad societal outcomes.

This study aims to identify the outline of charity social media marketing (SMM) and to determine to what extent it influences the charity brand image, brand trust, and donation intention. The data were gathered from followers of internationally operating Turk charities on social media. The theoretical model and hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling. Charity SMM is composed of awareness, interaction, timeliness, informativeness, customization, and advertisement dimensions. Awareness is the only dimension of SMM that has a significant direct influence on donation intention. Timeliness, informativeness, and advertisement significantly influence charity brand image, whereas brand trust is influenced by informativeness and customization. Besides, Charity SMM, as a whole, influences donation intention both directly and indirectly through brand image and brand trust. Therefore, charity brand image and brand trust are crucial for charities to promote donation intention through SMM. Therefore, charities are strongly recommended to focus primarily on developing their brand image and gaining trust in current and prospective donors.

Voluntary and nonprofit sector studies are relatively young and still seeking common intellectual ground. One vehicle for accomplishing this task is the systematic literature review (SLR). SLRs approach knowledge generation through a rules-driven comprehensive process for finding and analyzing prior knowledge. SLRs support the voluntary sector’s current emphasis on data transparency in publication. They also support the growth of voluntary sector empiricism by offering a greater claim to reliability and generalizability of findings. Finally, they support goals of inclusiveness and knowledge unification that are important to the voluntary sector academy, its funders, and its constituents. This explanatory article draws on examples from the nonprofit and voluntary sector to describe the rationale and methods of the SLR.

This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorporating relationships between third sector organisations (TSOs) and agricultural scientists, universities, and the public-sector agricultural establishment. There is limited scholarly work on the role of TSOs in agricultural research. Current approaches appear premised on TSOs being researched upon, and recipients of research outcomes rather than partners in generation and application of new knowledge. DLI expands the boundaries of research systems and roles of TSOs as supporters within them. DLI builds on partnerships between NGOs, farmers’ organisations, and women’s associations; it integrates researchers and research organisations to develop, manage and report knowledge generation and application. DLI is dynamic and developmental with learning for all participants central to the process. DLI unsettles current power structures within research systems and sees research and knowledge generation as a supporter rather than leader of development. DLI is embedded in an inquiring systems approach and applies six interrelated conceptual systems thinking tools. The approach emerged from, and was applied in, a twelve-year agricultural research project in India, and was subsequently introduced to, and further developed in a research project in Pakistan.