How multinational corporations and nonprofits collaborate for sustainability: assessing social partnerships from China

Purpose - This paper aims to understand the characteristics, factors and contingencies of social partnerships between multinational corporations (MNCs) and nonprofits in the context of sustainability that enable or impede the value creation outcome of the collaboration. Design/methodology/approach - A multi-case study with 12 social partnerships operating in China was investigated considering their relative representativeness and different value creation outcomes. Findings - The author presents a snapshot of the current state and unique differences of social partnerships in China, whereas the existing literature has mostly addressed the topic from a Western context. Moreover, the author highlights the key determinants and contextual features that influence the value creation outcome of social partnerships in China. Research limitations/implications - This study concentrates on the social partnerships in the largest emerging country context of China, and the representativeness of data collected from a small sample may be challenged. Likewise, the 12 social partnerships studied are similar in design but vary in sustainability focus. To test the validity of the theorizing, the study calls for future research to apply the proposed theoretical framework across various contexts across both developing and developed world. Practical implications - The paper provides guidance to corporate managers and nonprofit decision-makers on how to improve their social partner initiation, operations and governance so as to generate greater collaborative value out of social partnerships in the Chinese market. Social implications - This study contributes to the social partnership literature, which has been dominant in the Western context, by offering case evidences from China. Originality/value - The study shows that social partnerships are increasingly initiated and sustained in the context of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, with the majority oriented toward “satisficing” instead of “optimizing” and represented mostly with a “philanthropic” and “transactional” approach. The author particularly notes the salience of social exchange, with social partnerships serving as an indirect relational instrument for MNCs to navigate stakeholder relationships in the Chinese market, especially with the dominant resource holder such as the government.