Exploring Value Creation in Cross-Sector Collaboration

Abstract

Background Cross-sector collaborations (CSC) are increasingly being seen as an effective strategy for solving larger societal problems. Problem description Organisations choose to join CSC as a result of potential value they seek to gain from collaboration. However, value creation within CSC is vaguely defined and therefore it may be so that the actual value may be unevenly examined. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to further the practical understanding value creation by exploring a CSC, and comparing the motivations of potential value with actual values created for organisations, to see whether they compare to each other. Method This thesis has approached the research with a qualitative study and formed a theoretical framework based upon cross-sector collaboration and value creation. Moreover, the study examined six partners involved in the selected case, LoV-IoT, and conducted semi-structured interviews. Results and conclusion The findings suggest that each organisation expressed motivations for joining this CSC and also experienced that values had been created for them during the process of collaboration. In addition, many organisations showed the creation of values beyond their motivations for joining which suggest that there still may exists a vagueness around the values that are created during CSC. As a result of the vagueness, the values created during collaboration can at the most be compared to the motivations of potential value for joining CSC to a degree.