World Views and the Evaluation of NGO Supply Chains: Thirteen Cases from Guatemala

The city of Antigua, Guatemala is a frequent destination for volunteer tourism and home to numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including many international charities and humanitarian aid organizations. The area is ideal for studying disaster relief and humanitarian supply chains as well as the problems these supply chains face operating at the center of clashes between world views and cultures. In this research, we assess the impact of these world views on NGO supply chain practices, evaluate NGOs understanding of supply chain theory and practices and present 13 cases of potential, growing, and successful NGO relief examples. From the field research, we developed a classification framework and identified nine specific criteria that NGOs must meet to sustain success. We discuss the implications of the framework for future research.