The Role of National Contexts: Nonprofit Management Education in Sweden

The fact that most research on nonprofit management education programs focuses on credit-based programs (Lee, 2002), coupled with the finding that international comparisons reveal national differences (Mirabella, Gemelli, Malcolm, & Berger, 2007), calls for more case-study and comparative research (Dolch, Ernst, McClusky, Mirabella, & Sadow, 2007; Donnelly-Cox & McGee, 2007; Mirabella, 2007; Wilson & Larson, 2002). Based on a panel presentation (Hvenmark & Segnestam Larsson, 2011), this article provides a brief presentation of the situation in Sweden with respect to nonprofit management education programs. It also offers an interpretation as to why the case of Sweden deviates from other countries, particularly regarding non-credit-based education programs. We then argue that these results enhance the knowledge and importance of national contexts and how they affect the development of nonprofit management education programs.