Facoltà: Economia Aziendale e Management - Classe LM-77
Collocazione: 14716
Autore: Schnitzinger Bernadette
Data: 12/04/2016
Titolo: Social innovation as strategic orientation in companies in Austria – Partnerships between the non-profit and the private sector as new ways of easing society´s problems
Relatore: Rebora Gianfranco
Correlatore: Morelli Chiara
Autorizzazione per la consultazione: SI
Le tesi si possono consultare unicamente in sede
Social innovations have the intention to solve social problems. These social innovations are generally distinguished from business innovation. Social innovation is done by organisations whose main purposes are social, while business innovation has the goal of profit maximisation (Mulgan, 2006, p. 146). Corporate Social Responsibility supports business in their moral obligation to be good citizens, in improving their company´s image and gave support in the areas of sustainability and license to operate (Porter & Kramer, 2006, p. 3). In the course of time, both, companies and NGOs, increased the understanding that cross-sector collaborations between businesses and NGOs are mutually beneficial (Austin, 2003, pp. 50–51). There are three different stages of relationships between non-profits and corporations. First, there is the philanthropic stage; the second stage is the transactional stage, where more resources than only money are spent. The third stage is finally the strategic alliance, which is similar to a joint venture. The NGO and the corporation combine their core competencies in order to perform joint activities, which are aligned with the mission and strategy of both partners (Austin, 2003, p. 51) In the interest of better understanding the dynamics of the partnerships between the non-profit and the private sector, the author made case studies based on interviews and collected data from the NGOs and companies. First, the author examined in a literature review the success factors for partnerships between businesses and NGOs and then conducted qualitative interviews. The generated hypotheses concerning effective collaboration in partnerships are: Definition of common objectives and mutual understanding of the objectives, open and clear communication is important to come to common objectives, both partners of the associations derive benefits for themselves, other important requirements for successful alliances are equity and appreciation of the partner and partnerships should be representing the company's core.
