| Public-private partnership is an increasingly important form of organizing. Partnerships are formed to address such public issues as housing, education, and employment. Despite this, little is known from a theoretical or practitioner viewpoint about the conditions that foster partnership or about the developmental process through which such entities proceed. This research addresses those questions through an empirical study of five such partnerships dealing with employment and training. Four of the partnerships were established primarily as a result of the Job Training Partnership Act; one came about prior to that act. This exploratory study addresses two primary research questions: (1) what are the conditions under which public-private partnership emerges; and (2) what is the evolutionary process through which public-private partnership goes?;In this study, partnerships are analyzed from three perspectives: as an interorganizational phenomenon, as an organization going through a develomental process, and as a means of solving social problems. Six mechanisms that form the context in which the interorganizational linkages of partnership can take place are identified: mandate, visionary leadership, common vision, crisis, brokering organizations, and networks. The role of each of these mechanisms in generating partnership is examined. A developmental model, including assessment of the interorganizational context, and the stages of partnership development is set forth. Finally, the uses and limitations of the "partnership approach" to address social problems are discussed in light of the success and failures of the partnerships examined in this research. |
