The Non-profit Sector is Dead, Long Live the Non-profit Sector!

Abstract

Abstract This article engages the debates on the basic parameters of the study of ‘the space’ between the state and the market, including definitions of the organizations, theories, and boundaries of the space. This article divides the debates into two camps, ‘the non-profit paradigm’ and ‘the new paradigm’, and credits the contribution of both sides, respectively, delineating the sector and advanced theorization. It then distinguishes operationalization methods for the non-profit paradigm from operationalization methods for the new paradigm. The task is to develop the latter. The article then introduces an organizational identity approach from organizational ecology as a promising method.