Different Paths to Collaboration Between Businesses and Civil Society and the Role of Third Parties

Daniel Arenas (), Pablo Sanchez () and Matthew Murphy ()

Journal of Business Ethics, 2013, vol. 115, issue 4, 723-739

Abstract: In this article, we suggest that one of the unexplored paths toward collaboration between firms and civil society organizations starts with confrontation or potential conflict, and that the transition toward collaboration can be further understood if one focuses on triadic relationships rather than dyadic ones. We analyze the presence of third parties and their different roles to explain how collaboration is facilitated. The article aims at bringing together the bodies of research on business–civil society confrontation and on business–civil society collaboration. It offers a comparative analysis of four case studies, and proposes a typology of third parties composed of facilitating allies, participating allies, mediators, and solution seekers. We conclude with some implications for further research as well as for practice. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Keywords: Collaboration; Confrontation; Civil society; NGO; Cross-sector partnerships; Third parties; Mediators; Allies; Brokers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:115:y:2013:i:4:p:723-739

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1829-5

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