Organizational Advocacy in South Korean Nonprofits: Exploring the Dynamic Loop of Nonprofit Advocacy Activities

Abstract

This exploratory study examines how instrumental function-oriented nonprofit organizations in South Korea engage in advocacy, an area that remains understudied despite the sector’s expanding role in a maturing democratic context. Drawing on a review of existing advocacy literature, a Policy Delphi process with field experts, and qualitative interviews with practitioners, the study develops and applies a five-category framework of advocacy activities – informing, leveraging, voicing, organizing, and assessing – to investigate how advocacy is practiced within organizational settings. Rather than testing hypotheses or confirming a predefined model, the study uses field insights to refine conceptual boundaries and generate propositions about the dynamics of nonprofit advocacy. The findings suggest that advocacy activities are not isolated functions but form a mutually reinforcing and evolving “dynamic advocacy loop,” highlighting how everyday organizational practices contribute to broader advocacy engagement. The study offers conceptual propositions that expand understanding of organizational advocacy and encourages future research to refine and validate these propositions in diverse nonprofit contexts.