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We discuss the ‘gloomy’ side of firms’ embeddedness in networks of inter-firm partnerships. We propose a nested understanding of the effects of three levels of overembeddedness – environmental, inter-organizational and dyadic overembeddedness – on subsequent inter-firm partnership formation and argue for a joint examination of these three levels and their interactions over time. As a whole, increases in firms’ embeddedness will generate decreasing returns to the firms involved, prompting (i) the search for and attachment to novel partners and (ii) the dissolution of extant partnerships. On the flipside, overembeddedness thus sparks network evolution – by cueing firms to look beyond their embedded partnerships.

The article is based on a research project using survey data (N=628) and qualitative interviews (N=60) with young people and their parents belonging to the five largest ethnic minority groups in Denmark, along with the experiences of psychosocial services for minority young people. The theoretical framework is social psychological, combining theories of modernisation, family relations and effects of discrimination. The article examines interaction with the parents in relation to their intimate partnership formation and the dynamics of religious endogamy. Main findings are that parents may be either supportive or against the young people, contrary to the dominant discourses about intergenerational conflicts. The continued practice of religious endogamy is another finding. The article criticises the reductionistic dichotomy ‐ either own or parental choice ‐ and appeals for broader concepts which focus both on own choice and parental acceptance. The article also throws light on some strategic services dealing with the problems of ethnic minority young people in forming intimate partnerships in other countries. A model for psychosocial intervention is presented which directs attention to ageism and sexism, as well as racism, at personal, interpersonal and structural levels.

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence on the impact of network flexibility and its ambidextrous influence on a firm's exploratory and exploitative partnership selection.

The authors develop our hypotheses based on the literature of network flexibility and draw on a sample of publicly listed firms in Taiwan semiconductor and optoelectronics industries. The authors collect our data from survey questionnaires and archival sources and examine our hypotheses by using the generalized linear model (GLM) approach.

The authors’ empirical findings show that configuration flexibility has a greater influence on exploratory partnerships, while manufacturing flexibility has a greater impact on exploitative partnerships. In addition, when firms are ambidextrous (i.e. have both types of flexibility), they are able to simultaneously obtain both exploratory and exploitative partnerships. The authors’ findings indicate that balancing network flexibility is critical when firms execute ambidextrous alliance strategies.

The authors’ use of survey data to measure network flexibility may limit our observations related to network evolution. In addition, the authors’ use of public annual reports to capture firm partnerships may cause us to ignore informal relationships between partners.

The authors’ empirical findings suggest that the types of partnerships firms develop depend on which types of flexibility they possess. The results further suggest that decision makers have to find a way to develop a balanced strategy between network configuration and manufacturing flexibility when they would like to develop an ambidextrous alliance strategy.

The authors’ study advances the understanding in the literature on supply chain flexibility and its ambidexterity by connecting network flexibility and ambidextrous alliance strategy. The authors offer a guide to supply chain managers in the area of network design.

Corporate‐community partnerships, the collaboration between business and community groups, have risen to prominence recently. This paper seeks to examine how internal organisational factors affect the agenda of corporate‐community partnerships.

The internal factors considered in this research were the processes involved in the partnerships' agenda development and the attitudes of participating members towards the partnership and its social or environmental goals. Interviews were conducted with representatives from both the corporate and community members of two major partnerships in Australia.

The findings suggest that internal organisational processes and attitudes affect five major features of the partnerships' agenda: form, target, scope, stability and sustainability.

The study proposes a framework for understanding how internal organizational factors affect the various features of agenda formation in corporate‐community partnerships.

This research provides a practical understanding of corporate‐community partnerships in relation to the influences on agenda formation, and would be useful to both corporations and stakeholders, especially community groups.

This study stresses the increasing importance of corporate‐community partnerships and suggests that government policies should encourage the development of such partnerships.

The paper examines the influences on the agenda formation of corporate‐community partnerships through the voices of corporations and community groups.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the formation of a cross-sector partnership in which a collaborative response addressed the issue of affordable housing and homelessness in Melbourne, Australia. Factors leading to the formation and evolution of the relationship reveal how social partnerships in the housing/construction industry can be formulated.

Semi-structured interviews were held with representatives of the three sectors involved in an innovative social housing model, the Elizabeth Street Common Ground project. Supported with background documentation, interviews were coded and the results contrasted against theories pertaining to cross-sector collaboration.

Several factors contributed to the formation of this partnership, most notably the strong social imperative found within the organisational ethos of the participating organisations. The opportunity to replicate a well-trialled and successful model coincided with the desire among all partners to be part of the solution.

The results provide an insight into the ingredients pivotal to the formation of a successful multi-sector partnership. It highlights the value in sharing the best practice and the importance of networks when tackling major global problems such as affordable housing and homelessness.

Despite the fact that most studies have been pointing to high failure rates, collaboration remains increasingly popular as an organisational form of economic activity, particularly in technology‐intensive industries. This paper aims to present a cross‐industry qualitative study of the motives and drivers, the decision‐making process, and the success/failure factors of partnership formation.

The results of interview data collected in the computer, telecommunications and media industries (CTMI) indicate that the need to utilise the full value‐creation potential of the firm's resources has greatly contributed to the increasing popularity of partnerships in these industries.

Behavioural characteristics, e.g. commitment, coordination and communication among others, are found to play a more significant role in explaining overall partnership success compared with organisational characteristics such as structure and control mechanisms.

The study pays particular attention to the necessity to deal with contradictory interests across the firm's partnerships. Balancing numerous relationships is a thorny managerial act and an issue which must be incorporated in the literature on collaboration. In addition, the findings of the research provide some fundamentals for maximising the benefits of partnering activities in the light of practical management.

Since the 1980s the U.S. has experienced a variety of partnership arrangements between labor and management focused on improving industrial relations and organizational performance (Ichniowski et al., 1996; Kochan et al., 1986; McKersie, 2002; Rubinstein & Kochan, 2001). Yet there is an absence of research comparing these partnerships across industries and evaluating the factors that: (a) contribute to their success; (b) seem to be barriers to achieving their stated goals; or (c) predict which ones will stand the test of time. (For exceptions see Preuss & Frost, forthcoming 2003; Rubinstein, 2001b). This paper summarizes recent U.S. experience with partnerships; identifies factors that seem to influence the formation and sustainability of partnerships, including the development of network ties across traditional boundaries; and suggests theoretical and empirical implications of this experience in building and sustaining partnerships at work. We draw on a variety of types of evidence from the authors’ cumulated experience and research with more than 50 such partnerships in the U.S., spanning multiple industries and multiple decades.

This paper aims to identify models of best practice and examines the manner in which such social partnerships attract new partners and scale-up their solutions. Social responsibility initiatives that incorporate multiple sectors have the capacity to challenge unsustainable practice and pave the way for model solutions towards the societal problems we face globally.

Comparisons of three Australian case studies were analysed. These cases were purposefully selected as they all represented relationships that demonstrated social partnerships characteristics, and they had all attracted acclaim by their peers. They differed in terms of their societal problems and relationship duration. Semi-structured interviews were held with managers and employees from each social partnership, where they discussed all aspects of the partnership lifecycle from pre-collaborative conditions through to outcomes. In total, 50 semi-structured interviews were held with members of the private, nonprofit and public sectors.

Social partnerships pool skills, knowledge and finance across sectors, concentrating on specific societal issues of mutual concern. Resultant successful initiatives act as catalysts in soliciting further support. Three primary pathways exist for successful social partnerships that wish to evolve: expansion, replication and refinement. Focused attention and resources, through the formation of social responsibility clusters, can lead to sustainable solutions.

There are many organisations wishing to move on from philanthropic exchange towards more meaningful integrated relationships. This paper highlights the value of both within sector and cross-sector collaboration to achieve organisational outcomes. It provides some insight into the entry points for both nonprofit organisations as well as small- to medium-sized private sector organisations that would otherwise consider social investment in large-scale societal problems beyond their reach.

Social partnerships within the Australian context are under-represented; this paper addresses this by examining three best practice exemplars. The rationale for incorporating new partners and sharing success is discussed and supported by a model of social responsibility cluster formation.

Recent years have witnessed a change in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) debate from questioning whether to make substantial commitments to CSR, to questions of how such a commitment should be made. Given that CSR initiatives increasingly are carried out in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business–NGO (Bus–NGO) partnerships are becoming an increasingly important instrument in driving forward the sustainable development agenda. The aim of this chapter is to explore motivations to partner, the value-added of Bus–NGO partnerships as well as what is enabling and impeding the realization of this value.

An analytical model is developed based on contributions from partnership literature (Austin, 2000, 2007; Austin & Seitanidi, 2012a, 2012b; Seitanidi & Ryan, 2007) and the resourced-based view. This has resulted in a process model with the following three phases: (1) formation and motivation; (2) implementation and execution; and (3) outcomes and challenges.

The empirical part of the chapter focuses on three specific partnerships in Kenya. Kenya is one of the most prosperous and politically stable states in Africa, with high growth rates making it an attractive launch pad for businesses to enter partnerships with NGOs.

The partnerships studied were all pilots still flirting with this new form of collaboration modality and struggling themselves to clearly define the value-added. Partnerships are still experimental efforts involving a steep learning curve, and showing signs that they have to evolve further as well as innovate in order to produce the expected benefits. All three partners referred to learning as one of the most important intangibles.

Business and NGOs had both different and overlapping motivations that made them propel into cross-sector alliances. The partnerships have to be configured to satisfy a variety of different motivations, resulting in complex stakeholder management. For the NGOs, it is about designing new development models, due to an instrumental need of resource enhancement and idealistic need to deliver more sustainable and efficient solutions. The analysis shows clear signs of NGOs beginning to realize the importance of classical business skills, such as management, marketing, and technical systems that companies can provide. Looking at the business, the partnership fit right into the wider strategic sustainability “umbrella” of the corporation, notably the employees are central stakeholders. It is argued that a business’s approach to CSR and perception of its own responsibilities need to evolve to higher levels according to Austin’s Collaboration Continuum to produce valuable synergies in a partnership with an NGO (Austin, 2000).

Finally, the analysis shows a Bandwagon effect throughout the sectors, where the reason to form a partnership is because everybody else is doing it, and both NGOs and businesses do not want to miss out on potential benefits.

The purpose of this research is to take an emergent process theory perspective and model the supply chain partnering process as a series of four linked models that correspond to the phases of the partnership lifecycle, from initiation to maturity/termination, and discuss the management issues in those phases critical for optimal success of partnerships. The framework developed in this paper provides a road‐map to manage and optimize realization of partnership benefits.

The “partnership formation to business value” process is described as a series of four linked models that correspond to the phases of partnership lifecycle: foundation, implementation, shakedown, and onwards and upwards. The outcomes of one phase become starting conditions for the next. Thus, decisions and actions in a phase may subsequently increase or decrease the potential for optimal success.

Optimal partnership success is conceptualized and a framework for approaching optimal success in four broad phases is developed. It is believed that business organizations can considerably improve the realization of partnering benefits by focusing on the critical issues in the partnering process. Organizations cognizant of the critical issues in the various phases of supply chain partnerships can make systematic efforts to manage them better by providing training, incentives, leadership, and an overall environment that facilitates partnering and realization of partnering objectives.

A natural extension of this study could be to explore empirically the critical issues which have been identified, in greater detail. Given the wide variation in organizations due to size, products, and sectors, specific studies of supply chain partnerships, which compare partnerships along these dimensions, would also be valuable for understanding specific concerns. Empirical studies would also help to clarify the use of supply chain partnerships as a means to establish and sustain competitive advantage.

The framework developed in this paper provides a road‐map to manage and optimize realization of partnership benefits.

The prime benefit of this study is that it provides valuable insight on key issues in managing supply chain partnerships. Optimal partnership success is conceptualized and a framework for approaching optimal success in four broad phases is developed.