18권2호 - A Study on the Resource Characteristics of Environmental NGOs in Korea

This study empirically analyzed the resource characteristics of environmental NGOs in Korea and their inter-organizational circumstances, adopting the concept of resource dependence presented by Pfeffer & Salancik(1978). It appears that environmental NGOs in Korea have abundant network resources while they lack internal resources. Because of this, the external resources play many roles in organizational activities. In particular, this analysis indicates that external resources have more impact on non-institutional activities. This is assumed to be in connection with the securing of legitimacy for an organization, because performing non-institutional activities carries more advantages for securing the reputation and legitimacy of an organization than participating in institutional activities such as forums, seminars and public hearings. However, relying on external resources has a serious downside, as it does not create incentive for the NGO to strengthen the capacity of its internal resources. While the Korean environmental NGOs rely on external resources that are relatively easy to secure instead of achieving their environmental goals by increasing member-ship numbers, membership fees and other profits, their internal resources are being drained. In this context, as a political proposal, the environmental NGOs’ strategies and the direction of their activities for securing resources were discussed in this study.

□ Key Words: Environmental NGO, Environmental NGO activities, Network resource, Resource characteristics