Aligning strategic interests: Business perspective on partnership dynamics with nonprofit organizations in the context of corporate social responsibility in Egypt

Reem Mikhail

The Youssef Jameel Public Leadership Fellowship

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gained considerable hype both on practical and academic plateaus in recent decades. While, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in specific have been active in their quest to offer alternative or complimentary services to the public, especially at times when governments fall short in delivering adequate social duties. CSR as a research arena remains untapped in a country like Egypt despite the potential of business and NPOs partnerships as one aspect. In spite of the common perception that CSR is philanthropic in nature in Egypt, this research aims to seal this gap through studying partnership mechanisms and dynamics of strategic alliances between business and NPOs in the context of CSR. Ideally, it sheds the light on strategic CSR undertakings while outlining the private sector’s perspective on the needs to accomplish successful and sustainable partnerships with NPOs. Eventually, this research can be utilized as guidance for NPOs to partner with the private sector on recognizing societal needs in Egypt and bridge the void amongst the two sectors. The analysis investigates five case studies of large companies operating in Egypt and their strategic partnerships with NPOs using the Collaboration Continuum (CC) Framework of James E. Austin. While highlighting the role of NPOs, the research suggests adapting the elements of the framework in achieving more sustainable collaboration between business and NPOs in Egypt. The involvement of a third entity to disseminate information to both sectors is one recommendation offered in this study.