Introduction
Action against hunger was funded in 1993 with the motive of eliminating hunger. The company was founded because the medical community did not yet have a cure for malnutrition, which was prevalent in Ethiopia then (Action Against Hunger, 2022). Over the years, the company has come up with various ways to treat malnutrition, such as plumply nut formula. Also, the company, in its journey to end malnutrition, has collaborated with various organizations with similar goals, such as Unilever, to take action against hunger (Action Against Hunger, 2022). Currently, the company has expanded to approximately twenty countries to make impact change.
The topic of improving Ethiopia’s sustainable food production simply translates to how Ethiopia’s food production can be made or shaped to sustain the population for a long period, which is the main problem due to irregular rain patterns subjecting some parts to famine and hunger which was the main reason Action Against Hunger was established to fight famine and hunger.
This topic is important as it will assist the research with key materials in understanding what it takes to achieve sustainable food production since a single organization cannot solve the hunger problem; hence, partnerships through collaboration address the research topic. The subject area, which is collaboration, is for pinpointing the challenges that the company faces along with its partners in Ethiopia while at the same time depicting the efforts the organization makes to make food production sustainable.
The main problem the organization faces is corruption due to the presence of institutional voids. According to a report by the Guardian (2023), the citizens of Ethiopia face the challenge of hunger due to uncommitted partners with non-profit organizations that end up squandering the finances instead of allocating them to vulnerable families. This is evidenced by the United Nations investigation organizations collaborating with NGOs in the country. After the investigation, the UN concluded that it is a systematic thing that has been going on in Ethiopia for a long period, with many cartels in the process (The Guardian, 2023). These cartels are even orchestrated and are at high government levels that help the organizations hindering the sustainable food production by assisting them in escaping accountability. Also, it is a problem because it goes beyond the allocation of funds that get looted to the extent of the food supplies by the NGOs being looted. This is affirmed by diplomats and aid workers stating that government officials have inflated benefits of not going after culprits found guilty of looting funds and food supplies in the country (The Guardian, 2023). This problem is worth searching for evidence that world hunger needs all partners and collaborators to work together towards ending hunger and ensuring the efforts of one partner have not been undermined by the incompetence of the other partner. Therefore, transparency and accountability are key for effective collaborations in the collaboration process.
Research Objective
The research objective is to provide the company with recommendations about what it could do to combat cultural differences. Through quantitative research, we will gain insightful and valuable information about the two different working styles and finally solve to remove those barriers.
Research Question
What is the biggest challenge that the two partners might encounter?
Literature Review
Most researchers have concluded that Ethiopia requires policy pathways that minimize trade-offs between climate change, food security, nutrition, and poverty. They insist on policy pathways that favor synergies due to the urgency to transform food systems and agriculture in Ethiopia. International food policy insights reveal that climate change impacts negatively affect Ethiopia’s food systems and nutrition. Currently, the complexities and variability of climate and weather will likely affect livestock and agricultural production by 30% and 3% in the near future (IFPRI, 2023). Despite the government’s effort to address climate change in Ethiopia, more action is required to improve sustainable food production in the country. The setting of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations by governments in 2015 has opened an opportunity for the formation of cross-cultural collaborations that can assist in attaining the SDGs. The goals involve eliminating food insecurities and poverty. According to Zerssa et al. (2021), companies can partner with an NGO to address global challenges such as food insecurities in Ethiopia. These partnerships can lead to social and economic development in Ethiopia more sustainably. Corporate- NGO partnerships provide knowledge and expertise in addressing social issues. Also, these partnerships assist in adopting the most sustainable business practices to improve the living standards and the well-being of individuals in societies.
Experts perceive Unilever’s cross-section partnership with Action Against Hunger significantly improves Ethiopia’s sustainable food production. Unilever values sustainability, and its SDGs align with the primary aim of addressing food security in Ethiopia (Montiel et al., 2021). It operates through programs to promote sustainability and strives to ensure that all its investments are consistent with the SDG agenda. For example, Unilever’s Sustainable Living plan emphasizes improving the living standards of individuals through proper nutrition and reduced environmental impact. Therefore, Unilever’s collaboration with Action Against Hunger has the potential to result in the implementation of sustainable initiatives concerning food security and supply. Also, it can empower individuals such as small-scale farmers by encouraging sustainable farming practices, hence boosting production and resilience. However, corporate-NGO collaboration, for instance, Unilever and Action Against Hunger, has various challenges that can limit successful partnerships.
Cross-section partnerships involve cultural similarities and differences as they involve the collaboration of individuals from different backgrounds and cultures (Hovland et al., 2021). The cultural differences expose the partnership to a threat of disagreements and conflicts. Diverse stakeholders involved in cross-section partnerships have different norms, values, and beliefs, making managing cultural sensitivity within the team difficult. In addition, cultural sensitivity involves differences in priorities. Different cultures have different goals and priorities; thus, what is deemed critical in one culture may not be important in another culture. This is supported by Arnold et al. (2022), who state that it is challenging to balance diverse perspectives and function toward a common goal. Also, diverse perspectives between individuals in a cross-section partnership limit the establishment of shared objectives and goals; thus, the partners lack a common ground. The cultural differences affect resource allocation within the partnership. This is due to varying expectations about resource distribution and financial contributions, which hinder the potential for collaborative success.
According to Ghauri & Rios (2016), cultural differences in a cross-section partnership affect the decision-making process within an organization. Different cultures prefer different decision-making styles, such as single authority and consensus-based decision-making styles. The decision-making process in a cross-section partnership involves deriving equitable solutions based on the diverse interests of all members to ensure that the decisions align with the goals and objectives of the company. However, cultural differences impede the decision-making process. It is supported by research by Hyder et al. (2017), which reveals that disparities can hinder the decision-making process in understanding between partners. Different individuals can have varying knowledge, skills, and expertise levels. These differences trigger unequal influence on the aspect of decision-making. Therefore, cross-section partnerships require a proactive approach to successfully manage the challenges of diverse understanding and perspectives of individuals. Also, regulatory and legal frameworks complicate cross-section partnerships when partners operate from different jurisdictions. This is because acting ethically and complying with laws and policies in a country while making decisions that fit the interests of all parties in a partnership entails keen consideration as well as legal expertise. Thus, the parties might lack the capacity to make informed decisions and overcome the barriers to collaborative success.
Recent research shows that despite the common usage of power in most business settings, collaborative partnerships face a challenge of power dynamics within the parties involved, especially when one party attempts to exercise control and power over the other (Dewulf & Elbers, 2018). Most of the parties aim to achieve their desired outcome at the expense of exerting pressure on other parties, depicting a negative reputation. Power dynamics are created by differences within the parties, such as information asymmetry. Parties with high knowledge and expertise level about a certain domain tend to take advantage of the other party. This creates imbalanced power and can limit access to crucial data as the other party resists control. Power dynamics within collaborative partnerships affect governance and leadership structure. Past collaborations whereby one party has a history of controlling and influencing the other parties raise the urge of the party to dominate the partnership. It can create conflicts and prevent the partnership from performing far-reaching functions and achieving collaborative success. Also, increased dependency on support, for example, resources and funding, gives one party power over the other due to the development of vulnerability. However, Essabbara et al. (2016) oppose the notion of power imbalance between parties in a collaborative partnership by stating that expression of power entails one party having the ability to influence the other party. The outcome of power is controllability, which is evident in a collaborative partnership through influential behaviors and actions by one party to another.
According to Peterson (2023), non-profit organizations face the challenge of inadequate funding, especially by the government of the country they are in. To achieve their objectives, NGOs need government funding due to additional expenses such as institutional voids in third-world countries. This can be in the form of matching schemes, donations, and grants to fill up the additional expenses and costs, which create gaps that limit the ability of NGOs to be fully effective. The main reason for inadequate funding, especially in third-world countries such as Ethiopia, is shrinking national budgets, leaving no surplus budget for NGOs. Negash (2017) supports this, stating that NGOs in Ethiopia have a funding challenge. This leads to limited resource mobilization, and the organizations end up looking for funding from other places to achieve their agenda, even local donors. As a result, the NGO has complexities in achieving their organizations since different donors have different priorities, and they expect organizations to align. As a result, NGOs agree to the donor’s demands since most of them have single sources of income, making it difficult for them to achieve their goals due to different goals that do not align with their original goal.
Legal and Political Developments
Bohannon (2023) states that legal and political considerations can impact non-profits, especially if the host country’s regulations differ from the home country’s. This is evidenced by Negash (2017), who states that the Ethiopian government focuses on income-generating sources for NGOs in the country. This results in the non-profits having limited sources of funding due to restrictions on income-generating activities. This prevents non-profits from collaborating with other companies, for example, in the private sector, to raise capital for the organization. This leads to the non-profits having limited flexibility and high-cost effectiveness measures, making them a displacement on their strategic autonomy. Negash (2017) evidences this by stating the government has set regulations that make even international non-profits struggle to generate profits. Even foreign entities with more experience have stated the challenges they face in the quest to increase their sources of income, which makes them face high competition from the private sector, undermining the execution and implementation of goals.
Research Gap
Although collaborative relationships have gained momentum in recent years, there is a need to eliminate the complexity in corporate-NGO relationships, causing the above challenges through examining the types of relationships that partners should adopt. The challenges and risks involved in networking and connections between organizations can hinder successful collaboration. Adopting the right type of relationship will improve the potential of successful collaboration, which will be reflected in the collaborative activities and functions, thus having a positive impact on addressing social issues such as sustainable food production and poverty.
References
Action Against Hunger. (2022, November 8). Ethiopia: Hunger relief in Africa. https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/location/africa/ethiopia/
Arnold, M.-T., Le, T. H. T., & Kolleck, N. (2022, August 3). Expectations of cross-sector collaboration in cultural and arts education. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11080343
Bohannon, M. (2023, March 9). Council post: 11 challenges Global Non-profits Face (and how leaders can address them). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2023/03/08/11-challenges-global-nonprofits-face-and-how-leaders-can-address-them/?sh=84ec9bf2f4f8
Dewulf, A., & Elbers, W. (2018, August 12). Power in and over cross-sector partnerships: Actor Strategies for Shaping Collective Decisions. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci8030043
Essabbara, D., Zrikemb , M., & Zolghadric, M. (2016). The power imbalance in collaboration relationships – IJSOM. http://www.ijsom.com/article_2656_785116c37de44d36279dc4c6d3bda56f.pdf
Ghauri, P., & Rios, V. (2016). Organizational cross-cultural differences in the context of innovation … https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299551865_Organizational_cross-cultural_differences_in_the_context_of_innovation-oriented_partnerships
Hovland, O. J., Hole, A. F., Chiduo, M. G., & Johannessen, B. (2021, November 17). Experiences from cross-cultural collaboration in health campaigns in Tanzania: A qualitative study – archives of Public Health. BioMed Central. https://archpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13690-021-00730-0
Hyder, A. S., Abraha, D., & Mukhtar, S. M. (2017). Cross-cultural Strategic Alliances: Lessons from Swedish Firms in Eastern and Central Europe. diva. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:518098/fulltext01.pdf
IFPRI. (2023, March 29). Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a global crisis: Ethiopia . ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/achieving-sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-ethiopia#:~:text=The%20effects%20of%20climate%20change,%25%20and%2030%25%20by%202050.
Montiel, I., Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Park, J., Antolín-López, R., & Husted, B. W. (2021, May 25). Implementing the united nations’ sustainable development goals in International Business – Journal of International Business Studies. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41267-021-00445-y
Negash, D. (2017). An assessment of challenges and opportunities of Ethiopian charities. http://etd.aau.edu.et/bitstream/handle/123456789/1489/Dagne%20Negash.pdf?sequence=1
Peterson . (2023). Chapter 6: Challenges of collaboration – University of Michigan school … https://seas.umich.edu/ecomgt/pubs/landtrust/chapter6.pdf
The Guardian . (2023, June 29). “we blame government and aid agencies”: Ethiopia food relief thefts leave those in need with nothing. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jun/29/ethiopia-hunger-food-aid-suspended-usaid-wfp
Zerssa, G., Feyssa, D., Kim, D.-G., & Eichler-Löbermann, B. (2021, February 26). Challenges of smallholder farming in Ethiopia and opportunities by adopting climate-smart agriculture. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11030192
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