Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Partnerships are key enablers of firm innovation and value creation required to drive Sustainable Development (SD), corroborated through Sustainable Development Goal 17. However, the concept of strategic firm value in relation to SD remains inadequate in its development and required application. Firms as sub-systems rely on a number of partner bases that are often overlooked in relation to understanding strategic value creation. These interactions result in hybrid arrangements in a firm’s attempt to respond to complexity whilst growing the bottom line. A qualitative case research study undertaken within a South African mining context demonstrates how Public-Private Collaboration (PPC) processes create strategic value for firms driven by sustainability objectives. An integrated strategic value model highlighting competitive, collaborative and societal advantage constructs is put forward. The paper’s contributions have implications for strategy development, organisational, and cross-sector theory in relation to the SD agenda. It calls less for instrumental and transactional lenses, promoting a transformative view of the role of the firm as part of society as opposed to the firm and society.