Sustainability cross‐sector partnerships: The strategic role of organizational structures

Abstract

Organizations partner for strategic reasons and sustainability is a strategic opportunity. However, organizations' strategic engagement in sustainability partnerships has been mainly qualitatively studied. This research aims to determine if structures, a key component of the strategy, are implemented within organizations when joining sustainability partnerships, whether organizational structures mediate between goals and outcomes achieved from partnering, if highly structured organizations achieve highly valued outcomes, and if organizational structures differ according to the sector. Data from 224 organizations from the public, civil society, and private sectors partnering in large cross‐sector partnerships for the sustainability of four cities were collected and quantitatively analyzed finding that structures are implemented by organizations when partnering for sustainability, that is, sustainability partnerships are strategic; structures do not mediate between goals and outcomes; being highly structured is not enough for accomplishing valuable outcomes; and informal structural features are the most implemented by organizations, with public sector organizations differing from other sectors.

Collaborative Sustainable Business Models: Understanding Organizations Partnering for Community Sustainability

“…Yet the findings reinforce that contingency theory holds true in this context as well. While it is the sustainability focus of the partnerships what drives partner organizations to structure informally as sustainability challenges are wicked grand challenges (Ferraro et al, 2015; Rühli et al, 2017), it is also the influence of large partnerships that are formed by many smaller partnerships (Ordonez-Ponce & Clarke, 2020), so formal approaches may not be the most suitable way to interact with others, which is reinforced by the diversity of partners (65% have less than 50 employees and 20% more than 500, with 51% from the civil society and 32% from the private sector). By considering larger CSSPs, and better understanding the partner-level practices, this offers new empirical insights on how partners are structured when engaged in large cross-sector partnerships.…”

“…CSSPs follow a collaborative strategic management process that starts with the formation of the partnerships and the identification of partners, the formulation of joint sustainability plans, and their implementation at the partnership and partner levels, all of which lead to the achievement of different outcomes (Clarke & Fuller, 2010; Ordonez-Ponce & Clarke, 2020). The role partners play in the collaborative process is fundamental not only for the partnership in implementing the joint sustainability plan (Crane & Seitanidi, 2014; Gray, 1989) but also for the success of their own strategies (Lin & Darnall, 2015; Wassmer et al, 2014).…”

“…Organizations form partnerships when an issue emerges that affects something they depend on, they perceive beneficial to address, and they consider it to be relevant to their interests (Gray, 1985; Waddock, 1988). However, while scholars argue that organizations partner for strategic reasons (Lin & Darnall, 2015; Ordonez-Ponce & Clarke, 2020; Selsky & Parker, 2005) and that addressing sustainability is a strategic opportunity (Fiksel et al, 2014; Wassmer et al, 2017), it is not clear how valuable the resources that drive organizations to partner are, nor the value for those they obtain from partnering. Furthermore, for organizations to survive and succeed in complex environments such as those presented by sustainability challenges (George et al, 2016), they must adapt their business models and strategies according to the dynamics of their context (Andrews, 1980; Mintzberg, 1978).…”

“… 3. n 0 = 246; n 0 = Z 2 × p × ( 1 - p ) / e 2 Z = 1.96 for 95% confidence internal, p = .8 representing homogeneity in the population (Israel, 1992), and e = 5% as acceptable error (Ordonez-Ponce & Clarke, 2020). …”

Identifying determinants of CSR implementation on SDG 17 partnerships for the goals

“…Cross-sector partnerships (CSP) have gained relevance in the field of management research and practice, particularly as part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Clarke & Crane, 2018;Seitanidi & Crane, 2009, 2014, due to several reasons, but mainly due to social challenges that exceed the solving capacity of single social actors, which lead to the need to collaborate with the objective of extending their scope and capabilities (Bryson et al, 2015;Provan & Kenis, 2008;Siegel, 2010;Vestergaard et al, 2020). Among the areas where companies get more involved (through the label of CSR in most cases) are education, culture and arts, health and wellbeing, urban development, and volunteering, donations and CSP with government, universities and academia, and civil society (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2015;Ordonez-Ponce & Clarke, 2020).…”