A behavioral reasoning theory of nonprofit competition for grant acquisition

ABSTRACT This study examines nonprofit competition for grant acquisition from the behavioral reasoning theory. The study was conducted in 2 phases. Personal interviews were conducted with the senior managers of 44 Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs), and information was processed using a coding technique to find out the ‘reason for’ and the ‘reason against’ nonprofit competition for grant acquisition (study 1). Post that, responses were collected from 377 senior NPO managers and the information was processed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (study 2). The ‘reason for’ nonprofit competition was the reputational benefit and sustainability benefit, and the ‘reason against’ nonprofit competition was the organizational barrier, knowledge barrier, and image barrier. The ‘reason for’ positively impacted and the ‘reason against’ negatively impacted the motive and intention of nonprofit leaders for grant acquisition. The motive for grant acquisition positively impacted the intention for grant acquisition in nonprofit leaders.