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Hierarchization, Boundary Making, and Inequality: Exploring the Structural Changes of Chinese Grassroots NGOs in a Transition Era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Quanxiao Pan  and
Ying Xu
Quanxiao Pan*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, School of Government, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
Ying Xu*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, School of Government, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
*
panqx@szu.edu.cn
xuying@szu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Grassroots nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world have experienced a process of hierarchization in recent years. However, little is known about how partnerships between the government and NGOs have contributed to these changes and their consequences, particularly in China. This study applied institutional and resource-based perspectives to explore the structural changes of Chinese grassroots NGOs. Building on comparative longitudinal case studies of 15 service-oriented grassroots NGOs in China, this study finds that the state has expanded the rules for regulating the application and use of funding by NGOs. Consequently, steeper hierarchies have emerged in most of these organizations. Organizational strategic responses, such as compliance and resistance, can be attributed to organizations’ pursuit of resources and legitimacy as well as the consistency between organizations’ cultural beliefs and institutional requirements. The rising state/civil society partnership may cause inequality in volunteering and may have ambivalent impacts on voluntary failure.

Keywords

ChinaNongovernmental organizationsGrassroots NGOsState/civil society partnershipsVoluntary failure

Information

Type
Research Papers
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 46 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research 2022

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