Theoretical Framework

Abstract

Comprehensive theoretical models appropriate for understanding goal setting, strategy development, relationships with other stakeholders, and the causes of success and failure among environmental NGOs in developing nations are notable for their absence, and most research about them is relatively atheoretical. Several theoretical approaches, including interest group theory, various theories of social movements, and theories about civil society, as well as writing about African political systems, can potentially be applied to such NGOs, although each has significant limitations. On the other hand, general theories of organizations, such as open systems and institutional theory, have been successfully utilized in studies of environmental organizations in developed nations and hold great promise for understanding environmental NGOs in the developing world. Consequently, we rely heavily on them in this research.