Abstract
Building on the agenda setting theory of Kingdon (1984), this paper develops a collaboration forming model to explain the creation of multi-party initiatives as an addition to Gray's (1985 and 1989) explanation for collaborations as a response to environmental turbulence, crisis, or complexity. It tests this model by examining the Paper Task Force, a collaboration of five multi-national companies, an environmental group, and a university intended to determine environmentally sound guidelines for paper procurement. The study finds that multi-stakeholder collaborations can require ‘collaborative windows’ for their formation. These windows occur when four process streams – problem, policy, organizational, and social/political/economic – converge. In the case of the Paper Task Force, the problem stream was an increasing recognition of the environmental burdens throughout the lifecycle of paper production. The policy stream included new governmental initiatives to make paper-making processes cleaner and use paper with more recycled content. The organizational stream consisted of an increasing willingness among corporations to improve their environmental performance combined with their development of paper making technology with lower environmental impacts. The social/political/economic stream included strong public support for the environment in the United States and demand for chlorine free paper in Europe. A collaborative entrepreneur, the Environmental Defense Fund, working with the other Task Force members, was able to join solutions to problems. Implications for other collaborative ventures are developed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astley, G. (1984). ‘Toward an appreciation of collective strategy,’ Academy of Management Review 9: 526–535.
Brewer, G.D. (1992). Business and Environment: A Time for Creative and Constructive Coexistence. Twenty–fifth Annual William K. McInally Memorial Lecture. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Cairncross, F. (1991). Costing the Earth. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dunlap, R. E. and A. Mertig, eds. (1992). American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement 1970–1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Environmental Defense Fund (1994). 1994–1995 Annual Report. NewYork: EDF.
Ferguson, K. H. (1992). Union Camp Begins Ozone Era with New Kraft Bleaching Line at Frank lin,VA. Pulp and Paper. December.
Gilbreath, K., ed. (1984). Business and the Environment: Toward Common Ground.Washington, DC: The Conservation Foundation.
Gladwin, T. (1995). ‘The meaning of greening: A plea for organizational theory,’ in K. Fischer and J. Schot, eds., Environmental Strategies for Industry. Washington, DC: Island Press, pp. 37–61.
Gray, B. (1989). Collaborating: Finding Common Ground for Multiparty Problems. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey–Bass Inc., Publishers.
Gray, B. (1985). ‘Conditions facilitating interorganizational collaboration,’ Human Relations 38 (10): 911–936.
Gray, B. and T.M. Hay (1986). ‘Political limits to interorganizational consensus and change,’ Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 22 (2): 95–112.
Gutfeld, R. (1992). ‘Environmental group doesn’t always lick'em: It can join'EM and succeed,' Wall Street Journal. August 20.
Holusha, J. (1990). ‘Packaging and public image: McDonald's fills a big order,’ New York Times. November 2, A1, D5.
Holusha, J. (1993). ‘An alliance of 6 big consumers vows to use more recycled paper,’ New York Times. August 19, A1.
International Institute for Environment and Development (1995). The Sustainable Paper Cycle. London: World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Johnson & Johnson (1993). A Special Responsibility: Global Community Environmental Excellence.
Johnson & Johnson (1995). 1994 Annual Report.
Kantor, R.M. (1989). ‘Becoming PALs: Pooling, allying, and linking across companies,’ Academy of Management Executive 3 (3): 183–193.
Kingdon, J.W. (1984). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Harper Collins Publishers.
Lober, D. J. (1996). ‘Evaluating the environmental performance of corporations,’ Journal of Managerial Issues VIII (2): 184–205.
Lober, D. J., D. Bynum, E. Campbell, and M. Jacques (1997). ‘The 100 Plus Corporate Environmental report study: A survey of an evolving management tool,’ Business Strategy and the Environment 6 (2): 57–73.
Long, F. and M. B. Arnold (1995). The Power of Environmental Partnerships. Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.
McDonald's (1995).The Annual: McDonald's Corporation 1994 Annual Report.
McDonald's/Environmental Defense Fund (1991). Waste Reduction Task Force Executive Summary. April.
Milliman, J., J. A. Clair, and I. Mitroff (1994). ‘Environmental groups and business organizations: Conflict or cooperation,’ Sam Advanced Management Journal 59 (2): 41–46.
NationsBank Corporation (1995). Annual Report 1994.
Nichols, B. (1994). ‘EPA's proposed cluster rules shape U.S. paper industry's near future,’ Pulp and Paper. September, pp. 75–85.
Paper Task Force (1993). Press Release. August 18.
Paper Task Force (1995). Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Preferable Paper. Environmental Defense Fund: NewYork.
Pulp and Paper Staff (1994). ‘Paper companies shape environmental futures around new process options,’ Pulp and Paper. September, pp. 51–71.
Prince, S. J. (1992). ‘Managing materials to conserve resources: Re–designing solid waste manage ment at McDonald's,’ Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum II: 4–25.
The Prudential (1995). 1994 Annual Report.
Scheberle, J. (1994). ‘Radon and asbestos: A study of agenda setting and causal stories,’ Policy Studies Journal 22 (1): 74–86.
TimeWarner Inc. (1995). 1994 Annual Report.
Westley, F. and H. Vredenburg (1991). ‘Strategic bridging: The collaboration between environmentalists and business in the marketing of green products,’ Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 27 (1): 65–90.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lober, D.J. Explaining the formation of business-environmentalist collaborations: Collaborative windows and the Paper Task Force. Policy Sciences 30, 1–24 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004201611394
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004201611394