ABSTRACT
This chapter applies a systems perspective to interrogate the dynamics and challenges facing nonprofit organizations that have governance models involving subsystems of boards nested within them. These types of structures, which can be metaphorically compared with Russian stacking dolls, have been described as federated (Brilliant and Young 2004, Widmer and Houchin 1999, Young 1989, 1991, 1992, Young et al. 1999), distributed, or franchised (Abbott 2000, Oster 1992). We diferentiate them from network governance structures (Arya and Lin 2007, Gill 2006, Lega 2005). These nested boards are often found in nonprofit membership organizations that call themselves societies, federations, confederations, associations, or affiliations. The goal of this chapter is to inductively explore the nature of the governance interactions within three nonprofits and their affiliated subsystems. These are complex, still largely understudied systems (Cornforth 2012), which are often tension-filled, and can vary in their degrees of cohesiveness, autonomy, centralization, and in their shared visions, goals, and interests.
