IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i2p558-d132870.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cross-Sector Social Partnerships for Social Change: The Roles of Non-Governmental Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Xinya Yan

    (Local Economic Development Program, School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W. Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Haiying Lin

    (Management Department, College of Business, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA)

  • Amelia Clarke

    (School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

Abstract

Complex social and environmental issues call for broader collaboration across different sectors so as to instigate transformative social change. While previous scholars have emphasized the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in facilitating social change, they have not provided a nuanced assessment of NGOs’ different roles. We use the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) research partnership as a study case and explore NGO partners’ different roles in a large cross-sector social partnership (CSSP). By interviewing 12 NGO partners and 4 non-NGO partners involved in the PEPSO research partnership, our research results show that NGOs primarily have 10 roles in a CSSP. They include enabling roles such as consultant, capacity builder, analyst, and funder; coordinating roles such as broker and communicator; and facilitating roles such as initiator, leader, advocate, and monitor. These roles allow NGOs to fulfil their duties to make substantial contributions to a CSSP.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinya Yan & Haiying Lin & Amelia Clarke, 2018. "Cross-Sector Social Partnerships for Social Change: The Roles of Non-Governmental Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:558-:d:132870
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/558/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/558/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amelia Clarke & Mark Fuller, 2010. "Collaborative Strategic Management: Strategy Formulation and Implementation by Multi-Organizational Cross-Sector Social Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 85-101, July.
    2. Geoff Mulgan, 2006. "The Process of Social Innovation," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 1(2), pages 145-162, April.
    3. A. Montgomery & Peter Dacin & M. Dacin, 2012. "Collective Social Entrepreneurship: Collaboratively Shaping Social Good," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 375-388, December.
    4. Stadtler, Lea & Probst, Gilbert, 2012. "How broker organizations can facilitate public–private partnerships for development," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 32-46.
    5. Edwin Rühli & Sybille Sachs & Ruth Schmitt & Thomas Schneider, 2017. "Innovation in Multistakeholder Settings: The Case of a Wicked Issue in Health Care," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 289-305, June.
    6. Kong, Nancy & Salzmann, Oliver & Steger, Ulrich & Ionescu-Somers, Aileen, 2002. "Moving Business/Industry Towards Sustainable Consumption:: The Role of NGOs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 109-127, April.
    7. Haiying Lin, 2012. "Cross-sector Alliances for Corporate Social Responsibility Partner Heterogeneity Moderates Environmental Strategy Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 219-229, October.
    8. Levesque, Benoit & Mendell, Marguerite, 2005. "The Social Economy: Approaches, Practices and a Proposal for a New Community-University Alliance (CURA)," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 33(1), pages 1-25.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sylvaine Poret, 2019. "Corporate–NGO Partnerships through Sustainability Labeling Schemes: Motives and Risks," Post-Print hal-02154666, HAL.
    2. Mario La Torre & Annarita Trotta & Helen Chiappini & Alessandro Rizzello, 2019. "Business Models for Sustainable Finance: The Case Study of Social Impact Bonds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Iteke van Hille & Frank G.A. de Bakker & Julie E. Ferguson & Peter Groenewegen, 2020. "Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainability: How Mission-Driven Conveners Drive Change in National Coffee Platforms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    4. Brzustewicz, Paweł & Escher, Iwona & Hatami, Akram & Hermes, Jan & Keränen, Anne & Ulkuniemi, Pauliina, 2022. "Emergence of social impact in company–NGO relationships in corporate volunteering," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 62-75.
    5. María Jesús Barroso-Méndez & Clementina Galera-Casquet & Víctor Valero-Amaro & María Teresa Nevado-Gil, 2019. "Antecedents of Relationship Learning in Business-Non-Profit Organization Collaboration Agreements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Tulin Dzhengiz, 2018. "The Relationship of Organisational Value Frames with the Configuration of Alliance Portfolios: Cases from Electricity Utilities in Great Britain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-29, November.
    7. Teea Palo, 2023. "The Emergence of Concerned Partnerships in the Ethical Marketization of Place: A Narrative Lens," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(4), pages 835-854, May.
    8. Hazem S Kassem & Salim Bagadeem & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Mohammed Aljuaid, 2021. "Are partnerships in nonprofit organizations being governed for sustainability? A partnering life cycle assessment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Hazem S. Kassem & Mohammed Aljuaid & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Rabab Ghozy, 2020. "Mapping and Analysis of Sustainability-Oriented Partnerships in Non-Profit Organizations: The Case of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Sylvaine Poret, 2019. "Corporate–NGO Partnerships through Sustainability Labeling Schemes: Motives and Risks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Adriane MacDonald & Amelia Clarke & Lei Huang & M. May Seitanidi, 2019. "Partner Strategic Capabilities for Capturing Value from Sustainability-Focused Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Srivardhini K. Jha & E. Richard Gold & Laurette Dubé, 2021. "Modular Interorganizational Network Governance: A Conceptual Framework for Addressing Complex Social Problems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Theresa Gehringer, 2020. "Corporate Foundations as Partnership Brokers in Supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-24, September.
    3. Iteke van Hille & Frank G.A. de Bakker & Julie E. Ferguson & Peter Groenewegen, 2020. "Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainability: How Mission-Driven Conveners Drive Change in National Coffee Platforms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    4. White, Leroy, 2018. "A Cook's tour: Towards a framework for measuring the social impact of social purpose organisations," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 784-797.
    5. Tulin Dzhengiz, 2020. "A Literature Review of Inter-Organizational Sustainability Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-52, June.
    6. Christiana Weber & Helen Haugh & Markus Göbel & Hannes Leonardy, 2022. "Pathways to Lasting Cross-Sector Social Collaboration: A Configurational Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 613-639, May.
    7. Ermanno C. Tortia & Florence Degavre & Simone Poledrini, 2020. "Why are social enterprises good candidates for social innovation? Looking for personal and institutional drivers of innovation," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(3), pages 459-477, September.
    8. Hazem S Kassem & Salim Bagadeem & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Mohammed Aljuaid, 2021. "Are partnerships in nonprofit organizations being governed for sustainability? A partnering life cycle assessment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 0. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    10. Guillaume Denos & Christophe Maurel & François Pantin, 2020. "Raising awareness about paradoxes: the case of a participatory device facing social innovation tensions," Post-Print hal-03274464, HAL.
    11. Jennifer Brenton & Natalie Slawinski, 2023. "Collaborating for Community Regeneration: Facilitating Partnerships in, Through, and for Place," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(4), pages 815-834, May.
    12. Piñeiro, Veronica & Martinez-Gomez, Victor & Meliá-Martí, Elena & Coque, Jose-Maria Garcia-Alvarez, 2021. "Cooperatives´ Drivers of Joint Cropland Management," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315007, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Anne M. Quarshie & Rudolf Leuschner, 2018. "Cross-Sector Social Interactions and Systemic Change in Disaster Response: A Qualitative Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 357-384, June.
    14. Christian Omobhude & Shih-Hsin Chen, 2019. "Social Innovation for Sustainability: The Case of Oil Producing Communities in the Niger Delta region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-26, November.
    15. Iteke van Hille & Frank G.A. de Bakker & Julie E. Ferguson & Peter Groenewegen, 2019. "Navigating tensions in a cross‐sector social partnership: How a convener drives change for sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 317-329, March.
    16. Elena-Simina Lakatos & Bercea Oana Bianca & Laura Bacali, 2016. "The concept of innovation in social economy. A review and a research agenda," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 11(1), pages 32-50, June.
    17. Rob Tulder & M. May Seitanidi & Andrew Crane & Stephen Brammer, 2016. "Enhancing the Impact of Cross-Sector Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 1-17, April.
    18. Riandita, Andra, 2022. "To collaborate and innovate for sustainability: Food retailers and their external partners," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    19. Guillaume Denos & Christophe Maurel & François Pantin, 2020. "Raising awareness about paradoxes: the case of a participatory device facing social innovation tensions," Post-Print hal-03274408, HAL.
    20. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 2017. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 347-368, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:558-:d:132870. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.