Business–NGO partnerships in global value chains: part of the solution or part of the problem of sustainable change?

• Published in: Current opinion in environmental sustainability Vol. 12; pp. 35 - 40
• Main Authors: Bitzer, Verena, Glasbergen, Pieter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-02-2015
• ISSN: 1877-3435; 1877-3443
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2014.08.012

•Business–NGO partnerships are proliferating in global value chains.•They are based on the idea of market-driven sustainable change.•Studies on partnerships often show contradictory results.•Partnerships seem to solve some problems but also create new ones.•Thus, partnerships have become part of both the solution and the problem.
This paper reviews business–NGO partnerships in global value chains, which are often developed by Northern businesses and NGOs but seek to address the conditions of production in the South. Three main debates surrounding the potential of partnerships to bring about sustainable change are identified: the ability for participation and inclusive arrangements, the contribution of market-based approaches to the problems targeted, and the impact of partnerships. As our discussion will show, all three debates are inconclusive. The paper explains this uncertainty and confusion, and offers suggestions on what this implies for future research on value chain partnerships.