The Role of Community Participation in Cross-Sector Social Partnerships

A non-traditional and less examined partner type in the Cross-Sector Social Partnership (CSSP) literature is informal communities. The exploratory, single case study investigates how self-organized community groups open up or shut down engagement opportunities that have the potential to strengthen or weaken partnerships by conceptualizing key components and their positive and negative effects over time. The study offers an in-depth analysis of the ambivalent dynamics and dual role of community participation suggesting that the community size, member heterogeneity, level of direct interaction and bond-based attachment determine the direction of the effect. We argue that these key components either enable or dissolve the shared purpose of the partnership and offer three unique partner-specific opportunities: co-innovation, co-determination of prices and cofinancing new product development. The study contributes to the CSSP literature a process understanding of the role of community participation as a significant partner in addressing complex social problems.