Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
The ongoing debate about the distinctiveness of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors has intensified, particularly in light of recent research suggesting increasingly blurred boundaries due to the marketization of the nonprofit sector. In this study, we are the first to analyze mission statements (n = 611,077) from both sectors to examine their distinctiveness and potential overlap. Our findings reveal that while the two sectors remain largely distinct, there is also significant overlap. This similarity is driven by marketization, with nonprofit organizations showing greater alignment with the for-profit sector than the reverse. Our results underscore concerns about the marketization of the nonprofit sector, as we find a negative correlation between marketization (similarity to the for-profit sector) and the expressive functions of nonprofit organizations. Although nonprofit organizations exhibit both strong expressive and instrumental functions, these two dimensions are negatively correlated within the sector, highlighting an inherent trade-off.