IngentaConnect Positioning and its strategic relevance

Author: Chew, Celine¹

Source: Public Management Review, Volume 8, Number 2, June 2006 , pp. 333-350(18)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Contemporary non-profit strategic management/marketing literature suggests that non-profit organizations, including charities, adopt positioning strategies to differentiate themselves in increasingly competitive operating environments. However, the extant literature lacks adequate theoretical/conceptual frameworks and empirical studies to guide research and inform charity management practice. As part of an on-going study in strategic positioning in British charitable organizations, this article presents the key findings of an exploratory survey into the extent of positioning activities in a sample of general welfare and social care charities within the wider voluntary sector in the UK. The empirical findings reveal that charitable organizations undertake positioning activities extensively in their organizations. However, these activities appear to be more complex than those advocated in contemporary non-profit management/marketing literature. The article highlights five emerging themes that could have major implications for research and practice of strategic positioning in charities in specific, and in voluntary-sector organizations in general.

Keywords: Charities; non-profit organizations; positioning strategies; strategic marketing planning; United Kingdom; voluntary sector

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/14719030600587752

Affiliations: 1: Celine Chew Policy Studies and Services Management Group, Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK, +44 0121 204 3061, +44 0121 204 4918

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