ABSTRACT

The literature on the collaboration between businesses and Social Service Nonprofits (SSNs) emphasizes the importance of strategic management, based on joint governance and rational decision-making. This article presents a multiple case study analysis of four cross-sector collaborations, between for-profit business organizations and SSNs. The study examined the dynamics of interorganizational collaborations and their management in different stages of the collaboration. Data were collected from 36 in-depth interviews with key players from both organization types. The findings revealed that collaborations were based mainly on non-systematic decision-making and sporadic oral communication, with high participant turnover. Strategic planning was mostly absent, as were attempts to institutionalize administrative processes and procedures, form a new type of governance, and conclude formal agreements. An “organized anarchy” model is proposed to analyze the relations between the organizations and their operations during the collaboration period. Implications for future business-SSN collaborations and for collaboration management are presented and discussed.

摘要

关于企业与社会服务非营利组织 (SSN) 之间合作的文献强调了基于联合治理和理性决策的战略管理的重要性。本文对营利性商业组织和 SSN 之间的四个跨部门合作进行了多个案例研究分析。该研究考察了组织间合作的动态及其在合作不同阶段的管理。数据来自对两种组织类型关键人物的 36 次深度访谈。调查结果显示，合作主要基于非系统性决策和零星口头交流，参与者流动率较高。几乎没有战略规划，也没有尝试将行政流程和程序制度化，形成新型治理，并签订正式协议。提出了“有组织的无政府状态”模型来分析协作期间组织及其运作之间的关系。提出并讨论了对未来业务-SSN 协作和协作管理的影响。