No advocacy without representation? Nonprofit representational mix and nonprofit advocacy

Nonprofit representation as a multidimensional notion is inherently interrelated with nonprofit advocacy. This multidimensional nature of representation, however, was largely overlooked in prior empirical literature that predominantly focused on the independent effect of individual representational dimensions on advocacy. This article addresses this limitation by identifying the “representational mixes”—combinations of multiple representational dimensions—that bring about specific outcomes of nonprofit advocacy. Drawing on data from nonprofit organizations in three provinces of China and applying a corresponding configurational approach of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, the findings confirm three propositions, namely the conjunctural, equifinal, and asymmetric causation underneath the complex relationship between nonprofit representation and nonprofit advocacy. This study thus contributes a fresh configurational perspective to understanding nonprofit representation in relation to nonprofit advocacy.