Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Platforms for Cross-Sector Social Partnerships: Prospective Sensemaking Devices for Social Benefit

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cross-sector social partnerships (CSSPs) can produce benefits at individual, organizational, sectoral and societal levels. In this article, we argue that the distribution of benefits depends in part on the cognitive frames held by partnership participants. Based on Selsky and Parker’s (J Manage 31(6):849–873, 2005) review of CSSPs, we identify three analytic “platforms” for social partnerships – the resource-dependence platform, the social-issue platform, and the societal-sector platform. We situate platforms as prospective sensemaking devices that help project managers make sense of partnerships by calling attention to certain desired features or downplaying other features. We describe the three platforms and contrast them on factors that influence social benefit, including orientation, learning, and power. We provide illustrations of each platform and demonstrate how the choice of platform is consequential for practice, such as how a partnership project gets started, evolves and produces social benefits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alter, K. & J. Hage. 1993. Organizations working together. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astley, G. & Fombrun, C. 1983. Collective strategy: Social ecology of organizational environments. Academy of Management Review, 8: 576-587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, J. 2000. The collaborative challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bielak, D., S. M. J. Bonini and D. Oppenheim: 2007, ‘CEOs on Strategy and Social Issues’. The McKinsey Quarterly, Oct.

  • Bolman, L. and T. Deal: 2008, Reframing Organizations, 4th Edition (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco).

  • Boyd, B., N. Henning, E. Reyna, D. E. Wang and M. D. Welch: 2009, Hybrid Organizations: New Business Models for Environmental Leadership (Greenleaf, Chagrin Falls).

  • Bryson, J., B. Crosby and M. Stone: 2006, ‘The Design and Implementation of Cross-Sector Collaborations: Propositions from the Literature’. Public Administration Review, December(Special Issue), 44–55.

  • Christensen, C., H. Baumann, R. Ruggles and T. Sadtler: 2006, ‘Disruptive Innovation for Social Change’. Harvard Business Review December, 94–101.

  • Connected. Community Voice Mail Fact Sheet. Undated [approximately 2000].

  • Cropper, S., Ebers, M., Huxham, C. & Ring, P.S. (eds.) 2008. The Oxford handbook of inter-organizational relations. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dass, P. & Parker, B. 1999. Strategies for managing human resource diversity: from resistance to learning. Academy of Management Executive, 13(2): 68–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. & Dukerich, J. 1991. Keeping an eye on the mirror: Image and identity in organizational adaptation. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3): 517-554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, J. & Bebbington, A. with Wellard, K. & Lewis, D. J. 1993. Reluctant partners?: Non - governmental organizations, the state and sustainable agricultural development . London & New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner, D. & de Rond, M. 2000. Perspectives on cooperative strategy. In Faulkner, D. & de Rond, M. (Eds.), Cooperative strategy: Economic, business and organizational issues: 3-39. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, M., A. Khademian, H. Ingram and A. Schneider: 2006, ‘Ways of Knowing and Inclusive Management Practices’. Public Administration Review December (Special Issue), 89–99.

  • Fitch, G. 1976. Achieving corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 1(1): 38-46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, E. 1984. Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frooman, J. 1999. Stakeholder influence strategies. Academy of Management Review, 24(2): 191-205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, D. & Mehra, A. 1996. Review of Karl Weick’s Sensemaking in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 21(4): 1226-1230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, D. A., K. G. Corley and T. Fabbri: 2002, `Revising the Past (While Thinking in the Future Perfect Tense)', Journal of Organizational Change Management 15(6), 622–634

    Google Scholar 

  • Googins, B. & Rochlin, S. 2000. Creating the partnership society: Understanding the rhetoric and reality of cross-sectoral partnerships. Business and Society Review, 105(1): 127-144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, B. 1989. Collaborating. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, B. & Wood, D. 1991. Collaborative alliances: Moving from practice to theory. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(1): 3-22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greening, D.W., & Gray, B. 1994. Testing a model of organizational response to social and political issues. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3): 467-498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschhorn, L and T. Gilmore: 2004, ‘Ideas in Philanthropic Field Building’, Practice Matters Series, Publication No.6. The Foundation Center.

  • Huxham, C. & Vangen, S. 1996. Working together: Key themes in the management of relationships between public and nonprofit organizations. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 9(7): 5-17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klitgaard, R and G. F. Treverton: 2003, ‘Assessing Partnerships: New Forms Of Collaboration’ New Ways to Manage Series. IBM Endowment for the Business of Government, Washington, DC.

  • Leach, W.D., Pelky, N.W., & Sabatier, P.A. 2002. Stakeholder partnerships as collaborative policymaking: Evaluation criteria applied to watershed management in California and Washington. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(4): 645-670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, R. & Oviatt, F., Jr. 1989. Corporate philanthropy. In Bill Cantor (Ed.), Experts in action: Inside public relations: 126-38. New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, D. & Scully, M. 2007. The institutional entrepreneur as modern prince: The strategic face of power in contested fields. Organization Studies, 28(7): 971-991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linder, S.H. & Rosenau, P.V. 2000. Mapping the Terrain of the Public-private Policy Partnership. In Rosenau, P.V. (Ed.), Public-private policy partnerships: 1-18. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotia, N. and C. Hardy: 2008, ‘Critical perspectives on collaboration’. in S. Cropper, M. Ebers, C. Huxham and P.S. Ring (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations (Oxford University Press, Oxford), pp. 366–389.

  • Maitlis, S. & T. Lawrence. 2003. Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark: Understanding failure in organizational strategizing. Journal of Management Studies, 40: 109-139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J. 1983. Design guidelines for social problem solving interventions. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 19(2): 177-192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGann, J. & Johnstone, M. 2006. The power shift and the NGO credibility crisis. The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, 8(2): 65-77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nambisan, S. 2009. Platforms for collaboration. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 7(3): 44-49.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Riain. S. 2000. States and markets in an era of globalization. Annual Review of Sociology, 26: 187-213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, C. 1991. Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review, 16: 145-179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, B. & Selsky, J. 2004. Interface dynamics in cause based partnerships: an exploration of emergent culture. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33(3): 458-488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M. and M. Kramer: 2006, `Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility', Harvard Business Review 84(12), 78–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M. and M. Kramer: 2011, `Creating Shared Value: How to Reinvent Capitalism—and Unleash a Wave of Innovation and Growth', Harvard Business Review 89(1/2), 62–77

  • Prahalad, C.K. 2006. The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purvis, R., V. Sambamurthy & R. Zmud. 2001. The assimilation of knowledge platforms in organizations: An empirical investigation. Organization Science, 12(2): 117-135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ring, P. & Van de Ven, A. 1994. Developmental processes of cooperative interorganizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 19(1): 90-118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rondinelli, D.S. & Berry, M.A. 2000. Environmental citizenship in multinational corporations: Social responsibility and sustainable development. European Management Journal , 18(1): 70-84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salamon, L. 1987. Of market failure, voluntary failure, and third-party government: Toward a theory of government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 16(1/2): 29-49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salamon L. (2003) The resilient sector: The state of nonprofit America. Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schon, D: 1971, Beyond the Stable State (Norton, New York).

  • Seitanidi, M.M. & Crane, A. 2009. Implementing CSR through partnerships: Understanding the selection, design and institutinalisation of nonprofit-business partnerships. Journal of Business Ethics, 85: 413-429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selsky, J. & B. Parker. 2005. Cross-sector partnerships to address social issues: challenges to theory and practice. Journal of Management, 31(6): 849-873.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simai, M.: 1994, The Future of Global Governance: Managing Risk and Change in the International System (U.S. Institute of Peace Press, Washington)

  • Smith, O.: 2004, ‘Excerpts from CI and Starbucks Bring Conservation Message to Seattle’, Oct. 28. Retrieved 8 Jan 2006 from http://www.celb.org/xp/CELB/news-events/events/starbucksseattledinner.xml.

  • Steins, N. & V. Edwards. 1999. Platforms for collective action in multiple-use common-pool resources. Agriculture and Human Values, 16,: 241-255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, A., A. Strickland and J. Gamble: 2007, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage, 15th Edition (McGraw Hill, Irwin).

  • Tomlinson, F.: 2005, ‘Idealistic and Pragmatic Versions of the Discourse of Partnership’, Organization Studies 26(8), 1169–1188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trist, E.L. 1983. Referent organizations and the development of interorganizational domains. Human Relations, 36: 247-268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USAID: 2004, ‘United States Agency for International Development Teams with Conservation International and Starbucks to Support Coffee Farmers and Promote Environmentally Friendly Coffee Cultivation’, Sept 27. Retrieved 8 Jan 2006 from http://www.csrwire.com.

  • Van de Ven, A.: 1976, `On the Nature, Formation, and Maintenance of Relations Among Organizations', Academy of Management Review 1(4), 24–36

  • Waddell, S. 2000. New institutions for the practice of corporate citizenship: Historical, intersectoral, and developmental perspectives. Business and Society Review, 105(1): 107-126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S. 1991. A typology of social partnership organizations. Administration & Society, 22(4): 480-516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S. 2008. Building a new institutional infrastructure for corporate responsibility. Academy of Management Perspectives, 22(3): 87-108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S.A. & Smith, N. 2000. Relationships: The real challenge of corporate global citizenship. Business & Society Review, 105(1): 47-62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, J., Weber, K. & Margolis, J. 2003. Social issues in management: Our lost cause found. Journal of Management, 29(6): 859-881.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisbrod, B.A. 1997. The future of the nonprofit sector: Its entwining with private enterprise and government. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 16(4): 541-555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westley, F. and H. Vredenburg: 1991, `Strategic Bridging: The Collaboration Between Environmentalists and Business in the Marketing of Green Products', Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 27(1), 65–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, A. 2005. The role of scenarios as prospective sensemaking devices. Management Decision, 43(1): 86-101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wymer, W.W. & Samu, S. 2003. Dimensions of business and nonprofit collaborative relationships. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 11(1): 3-22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, D.R. 1999. Nonprofit management studies in the United States: Current developments and future prospects. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 5(1): 13-23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, D.R. 2000. Alternative models of government-nonprofit sector relations: Theoretical and international perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1): 149-172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Technology & Innovation, University of South Florida Polytechnic, 3433 Winter Lake Road, Lakeland, FL, 33803, U.S.A.

    John W. Selsky

  2. Albers School of Business & Economics, Seattle University, 1515 37th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98122, U.S.A.

    Barbara Parker

Authors
  1. John W. Selsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Barbara Parker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John W. Selsky.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Selsky, J.W., Parker, B. Platforms for Cross-Sector Social Partnerships: Prospective Sensemaking Devices for Social Benefit. J Bus Ethics 94 (Suppl 1), 21–37 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0776-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0776-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation