Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations

As nonprofits operate in a competitive environment with limited resources, they constantly seek new ways to optimize their resources. This study investigates factors influencing nonprofits’ decision to integrate flexible labor, such as independent contractors, into their workforce. Using longitudina...

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Main Authors: Qiaozhen Liu, Hala Altamimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/180
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author Qiaozhen Liu
Hala Altamimi
author_facet Qiaozhen Liu
Hala Altamimi
author_sort Qiaozhen Liu
collection DOAJ
description As nonprofits operate in a competitive environment with limited resources, they constantly seek new ways to optimize their resources. This study investigates factors influencing nonprofits’ decision to integrate flexible labor, such as independent contractors, into their workforce. Using longitudinal data from 2008 to 2018 in the arts and cultural sector in the United States, this study tests hypotheses related to the impact of an organization’s financial health, cost of permanent employment, reliance on government funding and donations, organizational size, and service demand variations on flexible labor use. The findings confirm that nonprofits offering higher fringe benefits and facing greater service demand fluctuations rely more on flexible labor. However, contrary to our expectations, this study also finds that nonprofits with stronger long-term financial health are more inclined to adopt flexible labor, while larger nonprofits use less flexible labor than their smaller counterparts. This study advances our understanding of the organizational and sector-level factors behind flexible labor adoption in nonprofits and offers practical implications for managing it.
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spelling doaj-art-8092620f3d1046f2b68031dc45deaec62025-08-20T03:47:47ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872025-05-0115518010.3390/admsci15050180Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit OrganizationsQiaozhen Liu0Hala Altamimi1School of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USASchool of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USAAs nonprofits operate in a competitive environment with limited resources, they constantly seek new ways to optimize their resources. This study investigates factors influencing nonprofits’ decision to integrate flexible labor, such as independent contractors, into their workforce. Using longitudinal data from 2008 to 2018 in the arts and cultural sector in the United States, this study tests hypotheses related to the impact of an organization’s financial health, cost of permanent employment, reliance on government funding and donations, organizational size, and service demand variations on flexible labor use. The findings confirm that nonprofits offering higher fringe benefits and facing greater service demand fluctuations rely more on flexible labor. However, contrary to our expectations, this study also finds that nonprofits with stronger long-term financial health are more inclined to adopt flexible labor, while larger nonprofits use less flexible labor than their smaller counterparts. This study advances our understanding of the organizational and sector-level factors behind flexible labor adoption in nonprofits and offers practical implications for managing it.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/180flexible laborhuman resource managementmanagement innovation
spellingShingle Qiaozhen Liu
Hala Altamimi
Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
Administrative Sciences
flexible labor
human resource management
management innovation
title Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
title_full Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
title_fullStr Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
title_full_unstemmed Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
title_short Drivers of Flexible Labor Adoption in Nonprofit Organizations
title_sort drivers of flexible labor adoption in nonprofit organizations
topic flexible labor
human resource management
management innovation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/180
work_keys_str_mv AT qiaozhenliu driversofflexiblelaboradoptioninnonprofitorganizations
AT halaaltamimi driversofflexiblelaboradoptioninnonprofitorganizations