An Ethnographic Study of Annual General Meetings in Not-for-Profit Organisations

Abstract

Purpose: Accountability has been described as an institutional social practice to encourage stewardship reflection and as such it is a process that can be observed and reported upon. This paper describes observations of an accountability event, the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which has been largely absent from the literature. The method and results of empirical research as to how accountability was discharged in not-for-profit AGMs is provided.

Methodology/Approach: The research utilised a critical ethnographic methodology to explore community-specific accountability.

Findings: Sensemaking was identified as an important function of the meeting and accountability processes. Further, accountability was enhanced when not-for-profit entities adhered to foundational rules, provided opportunities for sensemaking, and was seen to be characterised by organisational transparency.

Research limitations: This was a pilot study undertaken to develop the observation and coding model. Future research would include expanding this tool into AGMs of other organisational types.

Originality: AGMs are required of many organisations, but they have seldom been researched. This paper provides an insight into the characteristics of sensemaking within meeting behaviours, and insights into the role of governors and organisational members in the discharge of accountability.