Apr 04 2017 Research Briefing, April 2017

Each month, there is new, fascinating research emerging that provides practical insight into the intersector — the space where collaboration among government, business, and non-profit sectors enables leaders to share expertise, resources, and authority to address society’s most pressing problems. To keep our readers up to date, we compile a monthly briefing that captures the newest research, and publish it on our blog, for researchers who want to stay up-to-date on progress in the field of cross-sector collaboration and practitioners who are interested in how this research may be applicable to their work.

This month’s briefing includes articles about

• evaluating a cross-sector initiative to prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences,
• public-private partnerships for sustainability-related outcomes,
• whether public-private collaboration leads to more successful clinical trials in drug development,
• competing institutional logics in cross-sector partnerships,
• the implementation of infrastructure P3s,
• and hybridity in governance and in organizational logics in complex public-private partnerships.

“Advancing the Measurement of Collective Community Capacity to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience,” Children and Youth Services Review, Margaret B. Hargreaves, Natalya Verbitsky-Savitz, Brandon Coffee-Borden, Lexie Perreras, Catherine Roller White, Peter J. Pecora, Geoffrey B. Morgan, Theresa Barila, Andi Ervin, Lyndie Case, Renee Hunter, and Kathy Adams

Abstract: “In 2012, the ACEs Public-Private Initiative (APPI), a Washington State consortium of public agencies, private foundations, and local networks, was formed to study interventions to prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and facilitate statewide learning and dialogue on these topics. The evaluation team assessed the extent to which five community sites developed sufficient capacity to achieve their goals, and examined the relationship of the sites’ capacity to selected site efforts and their impact on ACEs-related outcomes. To help accomplish that a survey was created to measure the APPI sites’ collective community capacity to address ACEs and increase resilience in their communities. This article describes the development, design, implementation, and results of the APPI evaluation’s ACEs and Resilience Collective Community Capacity (ARC3) survey.”

“Public-private Partnerships as Instruments to Achieve Sustainability-related Objectives: The State of the Art and a Research Agenda,” Public Management Review, Alexander Pinz, Nahid Roudyani, and Julia Thaler

Abstract: “The growing importance of public-private partnerships (PPPs) suggests the need to assess their contributions to sustainability-related objectives. With a systematic review of business and public administration literature, this study elaborates on whether empirical evidence indicates that PPPs are appropriate instruments to accomplish the sustainability objectives of governments and which success factors are crucial for this purpose. Results reveal that business research on PPPs rarely integrates sustainability concepts; findings pertaining to their contributions to sustainability remain inconclusive. However, various success factors show the potential of PPPs, if appropriately managed. These findings suggest an agenda for research on PPPs in the context of sustainability.”

“Public-private Collaborations in Drug Development: Boosting Innovation or Alleviating Risk?,” Public Management Review, Thomas Crispeels, Jurgen Willems, and Ilse Scheerlinck

Abstract: “Consistent with popular belief among certain academics, practitioners, and policy makers, we hypothesize that collaboration between private and public organizations promotes success. We test this hypothesis for data on clinical trial success. Contrary to this popular belief, our results do not support the beneficial effect of within- and cross-sector collaborations. In contrast, we find that trials from single private companies are four times more likely to be successful than are trials in which public and private organizations collaborate. Hence, our results indicate that companies engage with public partners to mitigate development risks, not to exchange knowledge or technologies with them.”

“From Animosity to Affinity: The Interplay of Competing Logics and Interdependence in Cross-sector Partnerships,” Journal of Management Studies, Naeem Ashraf, Alireza Ahmadsimab, and Jonatan Pinkse

Abstract: “Drawing on and extending institutional logics and resource dependence theories, this paper posits that for cross-sector partnerships to survive, organizations need to share compatible institutional logics, but depend less on each other’s resources. Asymmetrical cross-sector partnerships may lead to a breakup if organizations are forced to operate under incompatible institutional logics. The findings of this study show that the challenges posed by incompatible logics of partners could be mitigated by the degree of resource interdependence between organizations. Capturing the effects of context and transactions on the actors’ strategic behavior, the findings, based on dataset of project-level partnership ties between 1312 organizations in the carbon-offset market, support these hypotheses. The paper concludes by discussing implications of organizations’ responses to keep acting under or reinterpreting existing institutional logics in asymmetrical cross-sector relationships.”

“Implementing Public-Private Partnerships: How Management Responses to Events Produce (Un) Satisfactory Outcomes,” Public Works Management & Policy, Stefan Verweij, Geert R. Teisman, and Lasse M. Gerrits

Abstract: “Most research on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure development focuses on phases prior to construction. The implementation phase itself has received less attention. However, sound public-private agreements and project preparations can fail during project implementation because of, for example, unforeseen events and ineffective responses to them. We conducted case studies on two infrastructure projects to examine which management responses to events during implementation produce (un)satisfactory outcomes. We found that externally oriented responses or a cooperative stance between the public and private partners produce satisfactory outcomes in responding to events. In practice, however, management responses are often internally oriented and non-cooperative, resulting in unsatisfactory outcomes. We identified three explanations for this, related to time pressure in implementation, the organization of the involvement of external stakeholders, and project culture in the PPP. The article concludes with implications for management and policy of infrastructure PPPs.”

“Public-Private Collaboration, Hybridity, and Social Value: Towards New Theoretical Perspectives,” Journal of Management Studies, Bertrand V. Quélin, Ilze Kivleniece, and Sergio Lazzarini

Abstract: “Focusing on the collaboration intersecting public, non-profit, and private spheres of economic activity, we analyse the conceptual forms of hybridity embedded in these novel inter-organizational arrangements, and link them to different mechanisms of creating social value. We first disentangle alternative notions of hybrid arrangements in existing literature by proposing a conceptual typology on two theoretically complementary yet distinct dimensions: hybridity in governance and hybridity in organizational logics. We show how both forms of hybridity can jointly occur in complex public-private and cross-sector collaborations, and propose the notion of value as a crucial bridging point between these perspectives. Crucially, we develop a conceptual framework on key theoretical mechanisms leading to economic and social value in these inter-organizational collaborations. Our work deepens the understanding of how diverse, hybrid forms of collaboration can create value and builds critical links between previously disparate streams of literature on public-private interaction, cross-sector collaboration, and social enterprises.”