Money Talks: The Role of Donors as ‘Solution-shapers’ International Cross-sector Partnership

The popularity of cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) as a third way of governance has sparked business ethics interest in its processes, outputs, and impacts. These studies, however, pass by the origins and nature of CSPs, which is important because it raises questions about the role of power and interests. In this paper, we study who is “doing” the CSP by examining how donors can shape solutions through their choice in which focal issues and implementation partners and methods they fund. Empirically, we created a novel database of 109 CSP initiatives dealing with workers safety in the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh, particularly thoseemerging after the Rana Plaza. We find that most initiatives are funded by one donor only; the cross-sector element of CSPs often happens between donors and implementing partners. We also find a diversity of ways to respond to the same problem. Different donors (sector types
and nationality), thus, shape solutions by funding responding CSPs in different ways. Lastly, we find a central role for governmental donors. Civil society and business actors played a more marginal role than business ethics scholars predict. Our paper contributes to the CSP literature by theorizing the solution-shaping role of donors in CSP initiatives and highlighting the pivotal of governmental donors in alternative ways of governing.