Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Supply Chains

Sustainability issues are becoming more complex. Private companies respond to the new challenges with the pursuit of corporate social responsibility. One way to contribute to society and to deal with the increased pressure is by engaging in cross-sector partnerships with non-profit organizations. But under which conditions are these partnerships successful? Using a multiple case research design we study the challenges in the process of creating sustainable value for supply chains through cross-sector partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and non-profit organizations operating in developing countries. The chapter answers two research questions: (1) What are the challenges affecting the success of cross-sector partnerships to create sustainable value? (2) How can these challenges be addressed by Operations Management (OM)/Supply Chain Management (SCM) research?