This article discusses the issue of the practice of control in organizations and the evolutive character of the concept throughout the society's evolution. However, it considers that the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), for their particular characteristics, demand a specific analytical approach and, in this sense, it proposes a model of analysis capable of perceiving the specificity of the world of the nonprofit and the voluntary organizations. The empirical verification occurs in four Spanish NGOs involved, in the latest years, by an environment which is subject to great changes due to the boom of growth and importance in the field. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews to NGOs' directors and through application of questionnaires to a random sample of stable volunteers of each organization. The results confirm the theoretical proposition although the environment interferences indicate differences that were already expected.
organizational control; institutional environment; nongovernmental organizations





