Business-NGO Collaboration in a Conflict Setting: Partnership Activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Business and Society, 2012, 51(3), pp. 478-511
39 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2011 Last revised: 27 Dec 2013
Date Written: March 5, 2011
Abstract
While business-NGO partnerships have received much attention in recent years, insights have been obtained from research in ‘stable’ contexts, not from conflict-ridden countries where such collaboration may be even more crucial in building trust and capacity and in addressing governance problems given the absence of a reliable state. This paper aims to shed light on business-NGOs collaboration in a conflict setting, exploring partnership activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most partnerships found are philanthropic, and deal with ‘traditional’ issues such as health and education in a donor-recipient mode with limited community involvement. There are only a few real transformative partnerships, which address aspects directly related to the conflict from a wider community focus; these involve extractive companies most exposed via mineral development/production. We also found so-called ‘engagement’ collaboration which can be divided into activities including the transfer of funds (and characterised by service delivery), and those without funds, focusing on knowledge exchange that furthers companies’ awareness of conflict-sensitive issues into their operations. Peculiarities of the different types of partnerships are discussed as well as implications for research and practice.
Keywords: Business-NGO Collaboration, Conflict, Partnerships, Community Involvement, Democratic Republic of Congo
JEL Classification: D21, F23, G38, H7, I39, L2, L31, L71, L72, M14, M1, N4, O1
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
MNC Reporting on CSR and Conflict in Central Africa
By Ans Kolk and Francois Lenfant
-
Business and Partnerships for Development
By Ans Kolk, Rob Van Tulder, ...
-
International Business, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development
By Ans Kolk and Rob Van Tulder
-
Trickle Effects of Cross-Sector Social Partnerships
By Ans Kolk, Willemijn Van Dolen, ...
-
By James E. Austin, Roberto Gutiérrez, ...
-
Aprovechar la convergencia (Capitalizing on Convergence)
By James E. Austin, Roberto Gutiérrez, ...
-
Adaptive Responsibilities: Nonlinear Interactions in Cross Sector Social Partnerships