Value creation in cross-sector collaborations: a value analysis of business and non-profit partnerships in Malaysia

Over the past decade, there has been an increase of non-profit organizations and businesses moving into cross-sector collaborations. Some of the cross-sector collaborations have evolved into advanced stages that co-develop entirely new business models. The field of cross-sector collaborations is relatively new and research on value outcomes have mainly focussed on the economic benefits, while social benefits have been underrepresented in research. More documentation and analysis of value outcomes is needed, especially in Malaysia. Value analysis is a challenging task in itself, because value creation takes place in a contextual complexity and value outcomes occur on various levels. It is further complicated by the different natures of non-profit organizations and businesses, who assess value from a social perspective versus an economic perspective. This study analysed three integrated cross-sector collaborations in Malaysia to understand cross sector value creation, and to identify the benefits that it creates for organisations and for society. In order to systematically analyse value, the collaborative value creation framework by Austin and Seitanidi (2012) was applied. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and secondary research in order to build a reliable case study. The findings demonstrated that integrative cross-sector collaborations create a high degree of value that result in economic and social benefits on the micro, meso and macro level