Working with complexity in the context of the United Nations sustainable development goals: a case study of global health partnerships
Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become a major driver to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, managing MSPs is difficult because of the multiple complexities they involve. We seek to contribute to a better understanding of how MSPs cope with these compl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Journal of business ethics
Year: 2022, Volume: 180, Issue: 4, Pages: 997-1018 |
| Further subjects: | B
Multi-stakeholder partnerships
B Alliance scope B Aufsatz in Zeitschrift B SDGs B Complexity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become a major driver to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, managing MSPs is difficult because of the multiple complexities they involve. We seek to contribute to a better understanding of how MSPs cope with these complexities by exploring the MSP scope. In our study of four global health MSPs, we find that a function-oriented scope in terms of focusing on a single intervention helped filter the relevant external and internal complexities, whereas an issue-oriented scope focused on addressing the health issue with multiple interventions magnified the complexities. As a result, the latter MSPs became overwhelmed and self-absorbed, while the former MSPs managed to remain outward-looking and sustain their collaborative energy and support. On this basis, we identify three mechanisms through which the MSP scope either helped or hampered the ability to cope with complexity, and we discuss the theoretical and practical implications for MSPs addressing the SDGs. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-0697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05196-w |