Strategic adaptation and survival logic of social organizations under resource constraints: a case study in China

How Chinese social organizations achieve survival and development through strategic actions under the dual constraints of the institutional environment and resource dependency is a core issue in grassroots social governance innovation. This study takes the Z Social Work Service and Development Research Center in H Province as a case study. Adopting a resource acquisition perspective, it analyzes from meso-level dimensions—including the resource dependency structure, internal governance structure, and interactions with external actors—how social organizations exert agency to facilitate their own development. The research finds that within the context of vertical government purchase of services creating "control dependency," Organization Z mitigated brain drain caused by low compensation by embedding emotional incentives into its internal management through a "simulated family-ization" governance structure. In horizontal resource acquisition, it achieved fund superposition through "project nesting" and "signaling mechanisms," and constructed a diversified resource network via social–commercial cooperation, forming a strategy of "institutional arbitrage." The study further indicates that social organizations within the "strong state-weak society" structure exhibit characteristics of "dependent autonomy." Their strategic choices are constrained by the rigid institutional environment yet simultaneously create flexible space through informal networks and emotional labour. This finding provides a new perspective for understanding the developmental pathways of social organizations in the Chinese context, revealing the dynamic game between institutional embeddedness and organizational agency.