Brazilian Nonprofit Organizations and the New Legal Framework: an Institutional Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the new Brazilian legislation regulating partnerships between the State and Civil Society (Nonprofit) Organizations between 1999 and 2002. The passing of Law No. 9790/99 – known as the Nonprofit Law – created the legal concept of Organizações da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público – OSCIPs (Public Interest Civil Society Organizations). Based on an exploratory survey, this study, using the Institutional Theory, allowed the analysis of how older organizations (NGOs and traditional social benefit organizations) resisted to the adoption of the OSCIP standard due to organizational inertia, while acceptance of the model was greater among younger organizations, in a clear coercive and normative isomorphic development.

Keywords

• institutional theory
• nonprofit sector
• organization inertia.