Problem: Corporate social responsibility is said to result in strategic and reputational benefits, however, broadcasting it publicly has been proven to be a delicate matter. While stakeholders expect companies to engage in CSR, they do not appreciate if companies communicate their CSR-activities too loudly. Prior research instead suggests that communicating too extensively could cause skepticism from stakeholders. Purpose: This thesis is set to investigate how companies view and handle the challenge of communicating their good deeds, in the specific context of cross-sector collaborations, and how companies balance the need to increase awareness of their social engagements with the risk of inducing skepticism. Method: Primary data has been collected from semi-structured interviews within six case companies from different industries. Conclusion: Our results show that skepticism per se was not perceived as a problem – one reason could be that most companies chose to avoid communicating extensively. While all companies argued for the importance of doing rather than talking, controversial companies in particular expressed an aversion towards bragging about their collaborations. A difference between controversial and neutral industries could be seen in the way they valued communication. Having the right level of communication, demonstrating authenticity by linking cross-sector collaborations to company characteristics, together with the choice of partners and communicating “through” NPOs were seen as important aspects that could help companies to find the balance.

Research has shown that socially-focused partnerships that cross sectors (referred to as social partnerships within) are necessary in order to effectively address pressing societal issues such as poverty. Yet, in these complex organizational contexts, there is often variability within and between involved organizations as it relates to basic assumptions around work and the meanings given to practices at macro, meso and micro levels of analysis. Put differently, there are often a plurality of meaning systems at play in such multi-faceted organizational arrangements. Accordingly, the purpose of this dissertation was to understand to what extent multiple meaning systems exist in social partnerships focused on addressing multi-faceted societal challenges and, whether and how such differences in meaning systems are strategically negotiated over time. At a deeper theoretical level, this research was focused on illuminating the processes by which meaning systems are negotiated when organizational boundaries are blurred and when a plurality of meaning systems are at play, with a central focus on players that act as boundary spanners within these complex organizational contexts. To understand the complexities at play in social partnerships emanating from multiple meaning systems, I conducted a multi-site ethnographic study, involving in-depth interviews and participant observation, of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness Society (Coalition) located in Victoria, British Columbia. In doing so, I utilized the principal literature streams that address multiple meaning systems at work: the culture literature in organization studies and the institutional logics perspective. As well, I incorporated other literatures based upon the emergent findings, namely organizational identity. Through this work I make a number of contributions within the area of sustainability, particularly the social partnership literature, as well as organizational theory. Empirically, I develop a process model that elucidates how players negotiate multiple meanings of organizational identity over time in a social partnership setting characterized by permeable boundaries and shared authority, at the group level of analysis. This is significant as we know little about how identity plays out in such multi-faceted organizational settings with continual blurred boundaries even as research has indicated that such arrangements are likely to surface identity issues among players (Maguire & Hardy, 2005). I also elucidate how individual players bridge across multiple meaning systems in a social partnership over time, answering the call for more research concerning the role of individuals and their interactions with organizations in the collaboration process over time (Manning & Roessler, 2014). To my knowledge, this work is one of the first of its kind to empirically explore tri-sector socially focused collaborations – involving players from the public, private and nonprofit sectors – that are more integrative and interconnected in nature (Austin & Seitanidi, 2012a) and that employs a process based perspective to understand how such collaborations unfold over time. In addition, I theoretically develop the link between institutional logics and organizational culture that emerged empirically via this study to guide future integrative work to holistically account for the multiplicity of meaning systems at work within and between such multi-faceted arrangements. / Graduate / 2020-04-01

It is a common misconception that the cross-sector partnership between private companies and environmental NGOs purely benefit financing and image possibilities. However, suppositions like these are worryingly out-of-date and do no longer correspond to the actual make-up, ambitions, effort, and functionings of said partnerships. Most companies use a concept called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when describing their sustainability work, often including partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The term was coined at a time when sustainability work was less refined than what we see today, and while societal awareness and industrial appreciation for the importance of environmental agendas has developed, the term CSR and its definition has remained the same. This study interviewed three environmental NGOs and four private companies in Sweden in order to investigate the structure and outcomes of their current partnerships with the respective actor. The findings underline the need for an updated conceptual definition, that facilitates cross-sector partnership development parallel to societal development rather than to hold it back. With environmental threats winning the attention of both private and public actors in local as well as global settings, the issue of this conceptual misalignment and possible snag in efficiency that it may pose, becomes highly relevant.

Over twenty years ago, the World Health Organization launched a health promoting school movement as part of its settings approach to creating healthy environments. Partnerships across the public health and education sectors are vitally important in efforts to improve the health of children and youth in a school setting. In support of this principle, major advancements have been made within Ontario’s education sector, such as mandating local school systems to incorporate the goal of student well-being into their improvement plans and promoting the use of their Foundations for a Healthy School framework. Furthermore, the provincial ministries of education and health are actively encouraging the strengthening of local school health partnerships. However, there is a lack of knowledge within the health promoting school literature as to how to go about establishing well-functioning partnerships within local school systems. To address this problem, the thesis project aimed to generate knowledge about partnerships between public health professionals and local school system actors, and to shed light on the potential for collaboration toward the creation of healthy schools. Before embarking on this thesis project, however, a conceptual framework was developed to gain a firm understanding of cross-sector collaboration for social change, since collaboration represents a partnership at the highest level of engagement. Two other literature reviews were carried out to understand further the partnership component of health promoting school models, and to show the extent of the knowledge gap existing in this area. The literature review on health promoting schools identifies, to a limited extent, the fundamental elements that specifically constitute school health partnerships at both the school and school board levels. Likewise, the scoping review that examines the knowledge-base on the different types of partnership for health promotion within school systems revealed an absence of in-depth knowledge on this topic. When setting out to fill this knowledge gap, an exploratory research methodology that was primarily qualitative in design was chosen. It included a participatory orientation, whereby a research steering committee of 10 public health managers provided guidance with the formulation of the research question, and with the data collection and interpretation stages of the research project’s public health sector phase. An online survey of school health partnership actors from all 36 Ontario public health units was carried out, along with semi-structured interviews with key school health informants from 32 of these public health units and from six school boards in the province. Although the contribution from the education sector was not as pronounced, school board participants corroborated the findings from participating public health professionals and provided additional insights to gain a clearer understanding of partnership challenges and how to strengthen school health partnerships. Thematic analysis of the collected data was performed based on both deductive and inductive reasoning. From the public health perspective, a school health partnership model for student well-being was constructed. This model was enhanced to some extent by the views of school board representatives. It is composed of two dimensions: the Partnership Generator, and the Collaboration Continuum. The Partnership Generator comprises four inter-related components, namely cross-sector engagement, connection, capacity, and continuity, with relationship building at its core. The cross-sector engagement component encompasses various elements that enrich engagement across the public health and education sectors, while the other three components consist of those elements that enable this engagement. The connection elements motivate school health partners to engage, whereas the capacity elements determine the extent to which engagement can take place. Finally, the elements that make up the continuity component maintain the momentum that motivated cross-sector engagement created based on the capacity that was made available through this engagement. Each of these elements contribute to a school health partnership’s strength. The Collaboration Continuum dimension refers to school health partners’ movement from one partnership arrangement to the next, with increasingly more extensive levels of cross-sector engagement. It includes three sets of supporting conditions to promote movement along the continuum, going from networking to cooperation and then to collaboration. The resulting model provides the knowledge base for assessing the strengths of a given school health partnership and for shedding light on which partnership areas would need to be further developed. Overall, this model offers any professional, from the field of public health, education, or mental health, a closer look at what would be required for a school health partnership to become truly collaborative and reach its maximum potential. It promises to inspire and guide school health partners in their pursuit of more meaningful engagement with one another toward greater improvements in the well-being of school-age children, in recognition of their shared responsibility.

Since 1962, Myanmar has experienced stagnant economic growth despite its rich natural resources, demographic strength, and being located at the crossroad of Asia. To improve policy and regulation, Myanmar's private sector must advocate policy or administrative course of action to the government. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to evaluate the public-private dialogue (PPD) before and after the change of the government, and change of UMFCCI leadership during major reforms in Myanmar. Research questions were focused on the design, implementation, and benefits and risks of PPD. This qualitative case study, based on cross-sector collaboration theory, included semistructured interviews with 26 key participants who have deeply involved in the PPD building process since very beginning. Data were categorized for thematic analysis and the PPD building process was compared before and after April 2016 because there was a change of government and Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries leadership. Findings included differing levels of conceptualization, capacity constraints, and the need to coordinate among development partners. Additionally, differing commitment level among local and foreign businesses indicated that creating the right conditions and being able to establish a collective purpose are important for successful cross-sector collaboration. This study contributes to positive social change for policy makers and collaborators interested in creating a positive regulatory environment through collaboration.

Disasters can occur anywhere in the world and when they do, human lives as well as infrastructure are affected in diverse ways. The impact of disasters usually warrant an immediate response from aid agencies because human lives are at stake and that is where humanitarian logistics comes into play. Humanitarian organizations involved in relief efforts have an enormous task of responding to emergencies in a very swift manner and are constantly seeking for new and innovative ways to reach their beneficiaries with utmost satisfaction. One way of doing this is through collaboration and engaging in partnerships with private sector companies. Given the fact that humanitarian organizations and private sector companies operate in different sectors, such partnerships could be challenging yet beneficial in diverse ways. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the cross-sector partnership between humanitarian organizations and the private sector. In order to achieve this aim, a frame of reference was developed with an operational partnership model and theory whislt examining and contrasting both humanitarian and business supply chains. Our methodology involved both primary and secondary data collection with empirical data collected from two private companies and one humanitarian organization. Data collected for the study were then analyzed in relation to the literature and models outlined in the frame of reference. The results of the study showed that the partnerships between the firms of the two sectors studied were philanthropic, long-term and mutually beneficial in diverse ways. Whilst the private companies benefit through improvements in Corporate Social Responsibility, creating public awareness of their corporate image, and brand among other benefits by engaging in the partnership, humanitarian organizations on the other hand, partner with companies which fit their expressed needs and gain benefits in both monetary and non-monetary terms. Moreover, knowledge transfer through the sharing of skills, experiences, resources and expertise are also very important elements which add to the benefits gained by both partners. In addition, the findings obtained from the respondents of the study demonstrated that trust, personal connection, regular communication and working together are very important elements which can be considered as critical success factors which sustain partnerships.

Purpose – This research focuses on finding the reasons, why members from different sectors join a cross-sector/multi-stakeholder CSR network and what motivates them to share (or not to share) their knowledge of CSR and their best practices. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the largest cross-sector CSR network in Sweden. The sample base of 15 people was chosen to be able to represent a wider variety of members from each participating sectors. As well as the CEO of the intermediary organization was interviewed. The interviews were conducted via email and telephone. Findings – The findings include several reasons linked to the business case of CSR such as stakeholder pressure, competitive advantage, legitimacy and reputation as well as new reasons like the importance of CSR, and the access of further knowledge in the field. Further reasons are in line with members wanting to join a network, such as access to contact or having personal contacts. As to why members are sharing their CSR knowledge, the findings indicate to inspire others, to show CSR commitment, to be visible, it leads to business opportunity and the access of others knowledge, and because it was requested. Reasons for not sharing their knowledge would be the lack of opportunity, lack of time and the lack of experience to do so. Originality/value – The research contributes to existing studies, which focused on Corporate Social Responsibility and cross-sector networking as well as to inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the field of CSR.

The research described herein focuses on understanding the effects of power on the processes and outcomes of collaborative networks. Power is conceptualized from a structural perspective, as the dependence that exists in the relationships that tie network participants together. Using the method of social network analysis, the dissertation first validates a measure of structural power in collaborative networks, betweenness centrality. It then examines the effect of uneven distributions of structural power among participants on an important variable for these networks: cohesion, as measured from a behavioral perspective. This effect is examined from the perspective of two levels of analysis: the whole network level and the working group level. The results indicate that structural power has a variable effect on cohesion, depending on the level of analysis. At the whole network level, uneven distributions of power negatively affect the cohesive behavior of participants. At the working group level, on the other hand, the relationship between the variables is curvilinear. Finally, the effect of structural power on three dimensions of participant satisfaction is examined: process satisfaction, human capital satisfaction, and outcome satisfaction. The research finds that being in a power disadvantaged position affects how participants rate their satisfaction with the process of collaboration.

Baggrund: Antibiotikaresistente mikroorganismer er et globalt folkesundhedsproblem. Trods forebyggende indsatser ses en fortsat en markant stigningi resistensudviklingen,som er en alvorlig trussel for både nuværende og fremtidens patienter. Formål: Studiet skulle belyse hvordan læger og sygeplejersker fra de danske infektions-hygiejniske enheder oplevede og håndterede risikoen for udvikling af antibiotikaresistente mikroorganismer, og om der var behov for initiativer til at sikre bedre overensstemmelse mellem den officielle og de enkelte beslutningstageres forståelse og håndteringaf problemet. Metode: Kvalitativt design,hvor det empiriske materiale blevindsamlet ved semi-strukturerede interviewsaflæger og sygeplejersker fra infektionshygiejniske enheder. Data blev analyseret med kvalitativ indholdsanalyse. Den teoretiske ramme for studiet var ledelse, intersektorielt og tværsektorielt samarbejde, samt kvalitetsforbedring og evaluering. Resultat: Studietviser at den hidtidige indsats i Danmark ikke har været tilstrækkelig for at hindre smittespredning og udvikling af nye resistente mikroorganismer. Som årsag anføres, at man ikke i tilstrækkeligt omfang efterlever anbefalingerne til, hvad der bør indgå i et infektionskontrolprogram, såsom videreuddannelse, retningslinjer, information og undervisning, overvågning og en national antibiotikapolitik. Udmeldingen var, at der var tilstrækkeligt mange og overensstemmende nationale og internationale guidelines; der var ikke behov for flere, men derimod behov for en langt bedre implementering og information til alle involverede personalegrupper Konklusion: Der bør etableres et intersektorielt og tværsektorielt nationalt samarbejde, bl.a. med fokus på at minimere antibiotikaforbruget. Til dette kræves deltagelse af praktiserende læger, fagprofessionelle fra sundhedsvæsenet, landbruget, Fødevarestyrelsen og -ikke mindst -involvering af ledere samt relevante organisationer og ministerier / Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to present and future patients. Despite several interventions, the increase in multidrug-resistant microorganisms is a global challenge in public health. Aim: This study describes and analyzesthe viewpoint of infection control specialists (physicians and infection control nurses) regarding the threat of antimicrobial resistance. It was also evaluated whether specialists perceive a need to improve the match between individual specialist and decision makers. Methods: Qualitative content theory was used to analyze empirical data based upon semi-structured interviews with infection control specialists. Management, inter-and cross-sector cooperation, and quality improvement and evaluationformed the theoretical framework for this thesis. Results: Interviewees reported thatDenmark’s efforts to prevent the spread of infection and the development of new resistant micro-organisms have been insufficient. The interviewees viewed current national and international guidelines as sufficient but the interviewees expressed that there is in adequate compliance withvarious elements of the infection control program, including vocational training, guidelines, information and education, monitoring, and a national antibiotic strategy. However, there is a need for more focus and emphasis on implementation and information to all involved personnel. Conclusion: Antimicrobial resistance requires greaterinter-and cross-sector cooperationin Denmark, regarding the overuse of antibiotics. This effort will require the participation of general practitioners, healthcare professionals, veterinarian specialists, as well as the involvement of leaders and relevant organizations and ministries / <p>ISBN 978-91-86739-91-1</p>

Cross sector social partnerships have been increasingly used as vehicles to address societal issues. However the practices are poorly understood and lacking transferability. One of the challenges relates to evaluating the success of cross sector social partnership projects through a stakeholder perspective. This thesis aims to examine how the different stakeholders perceive and assess project success by examining a case in a tripartite cross sector social partnership project named Umeå Interactive Recycling Room. Seven interviews with representatives from five participating organisations and project archival documents were analysed for the purpose of this thesis. The study reveals that stakeholders assessed success in multiple dimensions using short and long-term perspectives. The success criteria tend to be related to the value creation concept of the project which can be categorised into outcome, organisational benefits, product, and learning perspectives. The study also reveals that the stakeholders did not assess success using the traditional project management measures of time, cost, and scope. Furthermore, project success was assessed multiple times, both during the project life and post the project life with the evaluation means that can differ from informal ways to more formal ways. Overall, the findings suggest that connections exist between the success criteria, the timing of the project being assessed, and the role of the stakeholders in the partnership.