Klitsie Elizabeth J, Ansari Shahzad, Volberda Henk W
1Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1AG UK.
J Bus Ethics. 2018;150(2):401-423. doi: 10.1007/s10551-018-3859-5. Epub 2018 Apr 25.
We examine the framing mechanisms used to maintain a cross-sector partnership (XSP) that was created to address a complex long-term social issue. We study the first 8 years of existence of an XSP that aims to create a market for recycled phosphorus, a nutrient that is critical to crop growth but whose natural reserves have dwindled significantly. Drawing on 27 interviews and over 3000 internal documents, we study the evolution of different frames used by diverse actors in an XSP. We demonstrate the role of framing in helping actors to avoid some of the common pitfalls for an XSP, such as debilitating conflict, and in creating sufficient common ground to sustain collaboration. As opposed to a commonly held assumption in the XSP literature, we find that collaboration in a partnership does not have to result in a unanimous agreement around a single or convergent frame regarding a contentious issue. Rather, successful collaboration between diverse partners can also be achieved by maintaining a productive tension between different frames through "optimal" frame plurality-not excessive frame variety that may prevent agreements from emerging, but the retention of a select few frames and the deletion of others toward achieving a narrowing frame bandwidth. One managerial implication is that resources need not be focussed on reaching a unanimous agreement among all partners on a single mega-frame vis-à-vis a contentious issue, but can instead be used to kindle a sense of unity in diversity that allows sufficient common ground to emerge, despite the variety of actors and their positions.
我们研究了用于维持一个跨部门伙伴关系（XSP）的框架机制，该伙伴关系旨在解决一个复杂的长期社会问题。我们对一个旨在创建回收磷市场的XSP的头8年进行了研究，磷是作物生长的关键养分，但其自然储量已大幅减少。基于27次访谈和3000多份内部文件，我们研究了XSP中不同行为者使用的不同框架的演变。我们展示了框架在帮助行为者避免XSP常见陷阱（如削弱性冲突）以及在创造足够的共同基础以维持合作方面的作用。与XSP文献中普遍持有的假设不同，我们发现伙伴关系中的合作不一定会围绕一个有争议问题达成关于单一或趋同框架的一致意见。相反，不同伙伴之间的成功合作也可以通过“最佳”框架多元性在不同框架之间保持富有成效的张力来实现——不是过多的框架多样性可能会阻碍协议的达成，而是保留少数框架并删除其他框架以实现框架带宽的缩小。一个管理启示是，资源不必集中于让所有伙伴就一个有争议问题在一个单一的大框架上达成一致意见，而是可以用来激发一种求同存异的团结感，尽管行为者及其立场各不相同，但仍能产生足够的共同基础。
