Beyond the Expressive and Instrumental: Reclaiming the Nonprofit Sector's Affiliative

The nonprofit sector is characterized by multiple overlapping dimensions, each anchored in distinct institutional logics that generate specific social norms and expectations. The most discussed dimensions are the expressive and instrumental. Scholars and practitioners have occasionally suggested a third dimension, the affiliative dimension; however, little work has been done to define this third dimension or the institutional logics associated with it. This article aims to explicate the affiliative dimension and introduce the philanthropy logic, arguing that it is the institutional logic that gives the affiliative dimension its meaning.