Resource Dependency Structure And Public-Interest Supply Choice Of Foundation

Rapid development of foundations is a prominent phenomenon in China’s social transformation. In this emerging social and organizational field, there are two ideal types of foundations in term of "model of public interest supply", namely the way of service provision:one is "operating foundations" which usually engage in philanthropic activities themselves as well as solicit donations themselves, and "grant-making foundations" which focus on financing NGOs and professional capacity building without directly providing service to the public. In China, most foundations are operating foundations, which raise money and carry out public service activities themselves. Meanwhile, a large number of NGOs in China face the problem of lacking financial support, which has a strong negative impact on the development of the public welfare in China.Foundations differ in their cofounders, their major resource providers, and their ways and ability of mobilizing resource. This thesis analyzes the organizational diversity in this field, and by applying the theory of resource dependence, it scrutinizes the determinants of public interest supply choice of foundations in Shanghai. In particular, it explains why grant-making actors are significantly lacking in China’s emerging foundation field. China’s foundations can be categorized into five types according to their resource dependency structure:government-affiliated foundations, enterprise-sponsored foundations, university-sponsored foundations, expert team-supported foundations and community cooperated foundations. These five categories foundations differ in their ability and willingness for public service, which greatly affects their choices of commonweal productions supply form. It is found that form of public interest supply as well as their capacity and wiliness for social service is largely determined by the foundations resource dependence structure.