Identifying the Factors That Influence Positioning Strategy in U.K. Charitable Organizations That Provide Public Services: Toward an Integrating Model

This article is based on empirical research that for the first time identifies and explains the key factors that influence the organizational-level positioning strategy of charities involved in the delivery of public services within the wider voluntary nonprofit sector in the United Kingdom. The multidimensional factors are integrated in a theoretical model, which the authors argue is better able to accommodate the charitable context. The model suggests that a combination of external environmental, organizational, and mediating factors influence the positioning strategy of charities. Several of these factors are unique to the charitable context. They highlight the inadequacy of the existing marketing and strategy literature on positioning to fully explain strategic positioning in charities. Together, the research findings and the model provide distinct additions to the voluntary sector management literature while also providing an alternative perspective to researching charity positioning in contemporary marketing and strategy literature.