Cross-Sector Partnerships

Cross-sector partnerships bring together organizations that have different expectations and characteristics, thereby allowing each organization to maximize its core abilities while addressing potential legitimacy gaps. Most commonly, cross-sector partnerships involve corporations collaborating with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to address social and cultural issues, gain access to stakeholders and resources beyond their organizational boundaries, and enhance organizational reputation and legitimacy. Generally, nonprofits are considered to be more trustworthy and mission based than their corporate counterparts, whereas corporations are perceived as having higher levels of competency and efficiency. In addition, the different organizational forms have access to unique levels of economic, social, and cultural capital, which may enhance their desirability to partners. Finally, cross-sector partnerships allow [Page 252]organizations to consider solutions to social issues that are unlikely to ...