In Search of the Nonprofit Sector II: The Problem of Classification

  • Building on a previousVoluntas article (Salamon and Anheier, 1992b), which formulated a systematic approach to defining the non-profit sector for purposes of comparative research, this article takes on the complementary task of formulating a classification system that can be used to differentiate systematically the types of non-profit organisations that exist at the global level. To do so, the article first assesses a number of existing classification systems, such as the International Standard Industrial Classification and the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities. Finding these systems inadequate, the article then introduces an alternative system, which we term the International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations (ICNPO). The ICNPO classifies non-profit establishments into 12 major groups based on their primary economic activity, and then further sub-divides these into 24 sub-groups. The result is a system that scores high in terms of five key evaluation criteria: economy, significance, rigour, organising power, and richness. What is more, initial tests of the ICNPO in a set of countries show that it performs well in coming to terms with the diverse types of non-profit institutions that exist around the world.

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Metadaten
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Author(s):Helmut K. Anheier, Lester M. Salamon
Parent Title (English):Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
ISSN:0957-8765
Publisher:Kluwer Academic Publishers
Place of Publisher:Dordrecht
Publication year:1992
First Page:267
Last Page:309
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01397460
Release Date:2015/06/16
Volume:3
Issue:3
Notes:
Auch erschienen als / Also published as: 

Salamon, Lester M. and Helmut K. Anheier: Search of the Nonprofit Sector II: The Problem of Classification. Working Papers of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, 3. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, 1992

http://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/09/CNP_WP3_1993.pdf
Licence of document (German):Metadaten / metadata
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