Title: How has the literature contributed to creating effective risk management policies in nonprofit organisations?

Authors: Márcia R.C. Santos; Raul M.S. Laureano

Addresses: Department of Accounting and Finance, Escola Superior de Ciência Empresariais, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), ISTAR, Lisboa, Portugal ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8741-0122 ' Department of Quantitative Methods for Business and Economics, ISCTE-Business School, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), BRU, ISTAR, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-1299

Abstract: Although risk management is critical to all sectors of society, the attention given to the business sector's initiatives in this area has obstructed the advancement of knowledge about the remaining sectors. By systematically analysing the literature on nonprofit organisations (NPOs), three topics emerge: risk identification, risk management processes, and risk mitigation strategies. The first two tend to be discussed in academic papers, while the last topic is prevalent in nonacademic publications. This review revealed that the focus of the literature on risk has shifted from strategies for transferring risk to NPOs as risky organisations that pursue complex goals whose success depends on strategic risk management. In addition, a critical review was conducted of risk's conceptualisation and characterisation, thereby deepening the existing understanding of the progress made in this sector's still limited application of risk management. Moreover, the similarities, divergences, and limitations of the academic and nonacademic literature are addressed.

Keywords: NPO; nonprofit organisation; literature review; insurance; risk mitigation; risk assessment; risk management; systematic review; strategy; MAXQDA; nonacademic literature.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAM.2021.119947

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 2021 Vol.24 No.1, pp.1 - 21

Accepted: 14 Aug 2020
Published online: 04 Jan 2022 *

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