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Corporate-NGO partnerships in CSR activities: why and how?

Author

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  • Sylvaine Poret

    (Alimentation et Sciences Sociales - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, X-DEP-ECO - Département d'Économie de l'École Polytechnique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris)

Abstract

This article describes, analyzes, and explains the emergence of partnerships between corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the ways in which corporations use such relationships as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Economics concepts and the management literature are reviewed, and illustrations are provided to describe such alliances and to explain their expansion. The findings show that firms engage in CSR for altruistic, defensive, and strategic reasons. The role of NGOs in these activities, as well as the related risks for both types of partners, is also explained and studied. NGOs are identified to have fundraising, stakeholder, and strategic functions in corporate-NGO partnerships. The findings also show that the main risks for NGOs, namely, a loss of credibility and legitimacy and their consequences, are related to the financial and existential dependency created by corporate-NGO partnerships.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvaine Poret, 2014. "Corporate-NGO partnerships in CSR activities: why and how?," Working Papers hal-01070474, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01070474
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01070474
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    Cited by:

    1. Eswaran, Mukesh, 2018. "Can For-Profit Business Alleviate Extreme Poverty in Developing Countries?," Microeconomics.ca working papers tina_marandola-2018-6, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 06 Jun 2018.
    2. Hazem S. Kassem & Mohammed Aljuaid & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Rabab Ghozy, 2020. "Mapping and Analysis of Sustainability-Oriented Partnerships in Non-Profit Organizations: The Case of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-25, September.
    3. Simeon Simeonov, 2022. "Partnerships between non-governmental organizations and businesses in the context of sustainability," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 354-398.
    4. Arthur Nascimento Ferreira Barros & Raimundo Nonato Rodrigues & Luiz Panhoca, 2019. "Information on the fight against corruption and corporate governance practices: evidence of organized hypocrisy," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(2), pages 145-160, July.
    5. Vatn, Arild, 2018. "Environmental Governance – From Public to Private?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 170-177.
    6. Egle Jakunskiene & Egle Kazlauskiene, 2022. "The Evaluation of Business Tools for Encouraging Social Responsibility in Older Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Sylvaine Poret, 2017. "Label Battles: Competition among NGOs as Standard Setters," Working Papers hal-01512229, HAL.
    8. Hazem S Kassem & Salim Bagadeem & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Mohammed Aljuaid, 2021. "Are partnerships in nonprofit organizations being governed for sustainability? A partnering life cycle assessment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Cross-Sector Alliance; Firm Strategy; Non-Governmental Organizations; Sustainability Labels;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development

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