Challenges in Transitioning to Integrated Thinking in Nonprofits: An Empirical Study

The chapter presents social, cultural, and environmental value creation practices in the nonprofit sector. In this chapter, we use empirical data collected from different sources, including semi-structured interviews, archival documentations, direct observation at two cultural and creative hubs in the South East Asia to study how these organizations create and report on social, cultural, and natural values. Additionally, we explore challenges they encounter in this process. We propose a multi-level model of soft Integrated Thinking, embedding value creation at the individual, organizational, and inter-organizational level. Furthermore, we observe a reversed integration phenomenon—unlike corporations, nonprofits have to move beyond a narrow focus on social impact to focus on financial results. The chapter explains how and why social impact disclosures remain as symbolic artifacts in nonprofits. Finally, we suggest a continuum model to describe how purpose, strategy, value creation, and communication align in the implementation of Integrated Thinking in nonprofits.