Abstract
This study explores the communication processes of civil society collaboration, with particular attention to the ways in which sectoral differences are managed communicatively and how sectoral differences among members are implicated in the processes of collaboration. Findings from a 10-month qualitative investigation of a civil society collaboration of social service providers indicate that sector differences are discursive resources that people draw upon to make sense of uncertainty and frame arguments. Findings also demonstrate how sector differences are managed communicatively through practices of recognition, resistance, translation, and mediation. This study builds on previous scholarship that conceptualizes civil society collaboration as a series of communicative processes and discursive practices (versus economic or structural characteristics), as well as research that advocates a processual approach to the study of organizational collaboration.
The author thanks Daniel Lair for his input on a previous version of this manuscript, as well as editor Pamela Lannutti and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and insightful recommendations.
Notes
[1] I use the term civil society collaboration to capture a variety of interorganizational relationships described in the literature, such as cross-sector social partnerships (Nelson & Zadek, Citation2000; Seitanidi, Citation2008; Selsky & Parker, Citation2005; Waddock, Citation1989, Citation1991); multistakeholder collaboratives (Turcotte & Pasquero, Citation2001); cause-based partnerships (Parker & Selsky, Citation2004); social, collaborative, or multiparty alliances (Berger, Cunningham, & Drumwright, Citation2004; Stone, Citation2000; Zeng & Chen, Citation2003); multi- or cross-sector collaboration (Gray, Citation2000; Hardy et al., Citation2006); social service partnerships (Takahashi & Smutny, Citation2002); public-private partnerships (Linder, Citation1999; Lund-Thomsen, Citation2008); business city partnerships (Loza, Citation2004); cross-sector partnerships (Koschmann et al., Citation2012); and business or government nonprofit partnerships (Austin, Citation2000; Gazley & Brudney, Citation2007).
[2] It is worth noting that much of the collaboration literature uses the terms “communicative” and “discursive” interchangeably (e.g., Keyton et al., Citation2008; Lawrence, Phillips, & Hardy, Citation1999).
[3] All organizational and personal names in this study are pseudonyms in order to ensure confidentiality.
Seitanidi, M. (2008). Adaptive responsibilities: Nonlinear interactions in cross sector social partnerships. Emergence: Complexity & Organization, 10(3), 51–64. Selsky, J., & Parker, B. (2005). Cross-sector partnerships to address social issues: Challenges to theory and practice. Journal of Management, 31(6), 849–873. doi:10.1177/0149206305279601 Waddock, S. A. (1989). Understanding social partnerships: An evolutionary model of partnership organizations. Administration & Society, 21(1), 78–100. doi:10.1177/009539978902100105 Waddock, S. A. (1991). A typology of social partnership organizations. Administration & Society, 22, 480–515. doi:10.1177/009539979102200405 Turcotte, M., & Pasquero, J. (2001). The paradox of multistakeholder collaborative roundtables. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 37(4), 447–464. doi:10.1177/0021886301374004 Parker, B., & Selsky, J. W. (2004). Interface dynamics in cause-based partnerships: An exploration of emergent culture. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33(3), 458–488. doi:10.1177/0899764004266016 Berger, I., Cunningham, P., & Drumwright, M. (2004). Social alliances: Company/nonprofit collaboration. California Management Review, 47(1), 58–90. doi:10.2307/41166287 Stone, M. (2000). Exploring the effects of collaborations on member organizations: Washington country’s welfare-to-work partnership. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29, 98–119. doi:10.1177/089976400773746355 Zeng, M., & Chen, X. P. (2003). Achieving cooperation in multiparty alliances: A social dilemma approach to partnership management. Academy of Management Review, 28, 587–605. Gray, B. (2000). Assessing interorganizational collaboration: Multiple conceptions and multiple methods. In D. O. Faulkener & M. DeRond (Eds.), Cooperative strategy: Economic, business, and organizational issues (pp. 243–260). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Hardy, C., Lawrence, T., & Phillips, N. (2006). Swimming with sharks: Creating strategic change through multi-sector collaboration. International Journal of Strategic Change Management, 1(1/2), 96–112. doi:10.1504/IJSCM.2006.011105 Takahashi, L. M., & Smutny, G. (2002). Collaborative windows and organizational governance: Exploring the formation and demise of social service partnerships. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 31, 165–185. doi:10.1177/08964002031002001 Linder, S. H. (1999). Coming to terms with the public-private partnership: A grammar of multiple meanings. American Behavioral Scientist, 43, 35–51. doi:10.1177/00027649921955146 Lund-Thomsen, P. (2008). The global sourcing and codes of conduct debate: Five myths and five recommendations. Development and Change, 39, 1005–1018. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.2008.00526.x Loza, J. (2004). Business–community partnerships: The case for community organization capacity building. Journal of Business Ethics, 53, 297–311. doi:10.1023/B:BUSI.0000039415.90007.56 Koschmann, M., Kuhn, T., & Pfarrer, M. (2012). A communicative framework of value in cross- sector partnerships. Academy of Management Review, 37(3), 332–354. doi:10.5465/amr.2010.0314 Austin, J. E. (2000). Strategic collaboration between nonprofits and businesses. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1), 69–97. doi:10.1177/089976400773746346 Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2007). The purpose (and perils) of government-nonprofit partnership. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36, 389–415. doi:10.1177/0899764006295997 Keyton, J., Ford, D. J., & Smith, F. (2008). A mesolevel communicative model of collaboration. Communication Theory, 18(3), 376–406. doi:10.1111/comt.2008.18.issue-3 Lawrence, T. B., Phillips, N., & Hardy, C. (1999). Watching whale watching: Exploring the discursive foundations of collaborative relationships. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(4), 479–502. doi:10.1177/0021886399354008