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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
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Interface Dynamics in Cause-Based Partnerships: An Exploration of Emergent Culture

Barbara Parker

Seattle University

John W. Selsky

University of Melbourne

This article examines the behavioral dynamics at the interface between organizations in strategic partnerships called cause-based partnerships (CBPs). These are partnerships between a corporation and one or more nonprofit organizations that address social meta problems such as environmental sustainability or social-justice challenges. Various a priori differences such as tasks, processes, and organizational cultures are expected to affect outcomes, but this article argues that a key determinant of successful CBP performance is behavioral dynamics at the interface between the partners. This article builds a framework for understanding these behavioral dynamics in terms of an emergent culture. Three scenarios—integration, reculturation, and separation—are described for how participants in CBPs continually negotiate a workable set of cultural practices among them-selves. Examples are basedon interviews with CBP managers. These explorations expand the basis for understanding CBP dynamics beyond those provided by static task, process, or common-culture explanations.

Key Words: collaboration • business/nonprofit partnerships • intercultural issues

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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3, 458-488 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764004266016
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