Corporations and NGO Partnerships to Implement CSR Programmes in Indonesia: A Social Capital Perspective

Studies on corporations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) partnerships in implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes have been researched, but there is a gap in applying social capital theory to explain why and how such partnerships generate sustainable outcomes. Using the social capital theory, this research aims to illuminate the rationales behind companies’ decisions in partnering with an NGO, how social capital is being developed and applied during the implementation of CSR programmes and how the CSR programme implementation contributes to companies’ CSR performance. An embedded qualitative case study strategy is applied to achieve the research objectives. An Indonesian NGO and 10 national and multinational companies that collaborate with the NGO became the case of this research. The study finds that companies decided to collaborate with an NGO because they believed that the NGO shared similar sustainability goals, and there is variability of gaps in companies’ CSR resources that should be filled in by NGO resources, capabilities and programme offerings. During CSR programme implementation, the NGO served as a focal actor that bridges resource mobilisations and collective actions between the companies and the CSR beneficiaries. Finally, the social capital developed during the CSR programme contributes to companies’ CSR performance in the form of internal and external social performance, environmental preservation and indirect economic benefits. The framework developed by this research can be used by corporations that do not have dedicated CSR divisions or resources within their companies, especially in considering mutual collaborations with an NGO in implementing CSR programmes to achieve their sustainability goals.