Abstract
External ratings of organizations have proliferated in the last few decades, impacting not only the behavior of consumers
but also of the organizations being rated. This phenomenon has been widely studied in regards to the U.S. News and World Reports ratings of universities and law schools. This article strives to understand how third party ratings impact the behavior of
nonprofits using the financial data the nonprofits provide in their IRS Forms 990. The results show that such ratings are,
in fact, having an effect on how nonprofits report financial information on the IRS Form 990.
but also of the organizations being rated. This phenomenon has been widely studied in regards to the U.S. News and World Reports ratings of universities and law schools. This article strives to understand how third party ratings impact the behavior of
nonprofits using the financial data the nonprofits provide in their IRS Forms 990. The results show that such ratings are,
in fact, having an effect on how nonprofits report financial information on the IRS Form 990.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-18
- DOI 10.1007/s11266-012-9290-0
- Authors
- Rebecca Szper, University of Washington, 1201 E John St Apt 2, Seattle, WA 98102, USA
- Journal Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
- Online ISSN 1573-7888
- Print ISSN 0957-8765