Voice in a supra-organisational and shared-power world: challenges for voice in cross-sector collaboration

Abstract

Our research takes as its starting point that society faces complex social, environmental and economic problems and that supra-organisational, cross-sector collaborations will increasingly be the vehicles for addressing those problems. The increased use of such supra-organisational collaborations requires collaboration practitioners who design and facilitate projects. However, cross-sector collaborations present new challenges for HRM. This exploratory study collected data from 15 interviews to create new understandings of work of cross-sector collaboration practitioners. An interpretive analysis of the practitioners’ perspectives reveals that aspects of voice are considered essential for the success of cross-sector collaborations, and that voice is improvement-oriented in these contexts. Voice creates an understanding of the different perspectives among cross-sector collaborators and establishes trust. Voice forms a platform from which the differing objectives of the collaborators can be met, it engages multiple parties from very different organisations and professions, and it maximises the potential of the collaboration. Membership and representativeness of governance groups are closely linked to voice and its benefits in cross-sector collaborations. Our findings emphasise the importance of collaborators understanding each other’s motivations and ways of thinking, and the need to give voice to diverse identities that come together in cross-sector collaborations.