Cause-related events: fulfilling the objectives of social partnerships Amy Lyes 1 , Nitha Palakshappa 2 * and Sandy Bulmer 2 1 Beca, New Zealand 2 School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, Massey University, New Zealand • Cause-related events are growing in frequency and popularity. These events enable corporates and not-for-profit organisations to collaborate for mutual benefit, within the strategic framework of a social partnership. However, while anecdotal evidence indicates that millions of dollars are invested in events, less is known about how the strategic objectives of social partnerships are achieved via cause-related events. We present the findings of an ethnographic study of two social partnerships and contribute insights into how and why events help them achieve their strategic objectives. Case analysis data reveals that the fit between events and partnerships; the people, teams, and relation- ships; and collaboration of resources all contribute to generating competitive advantage and value. We discuss the managerial implications for those collaborating to organise a cause-related event. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Introduction Cause-related events are growing in frequency and popularity. These events enable corporates and not-for-profit organisations to collaborate for mutual benefit, within the strategic framework of a social partnership. These events require significant resources and commitment from both parties to ensure that they are well organised and achieve desired objectives. Events provide an opportunity to engage with stakeholders such as customers, com- munity groups, NFP beneficiaries and benefactors, in a relevant and meaningful manner. Furthermore, in an era of media fragmentation, events offer corpo- rates and NFPs a platform to build emotional engage- ment and deliver personalised experiences with diverse stakeholders. However, while anecdotal evidence indicates that millions of dollars are invested in events, less is known about how the stra- tegic objectives of social partnerships are achieved via cause-related events. Social partnerships The term ‘social partnership’ has commonly been used to define relationships that emphasise the strate- gic, highly collaborative, long-term focus of corporate and NFP collaboration. From a strategic perspective, *Correspondence to: Nitha Palakshappa, School of Communica- tion, Journalism and Marketing, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: N.N.Palakshappa@massey.ac.nz International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing Int. J. Nonprofit Volunt. Sect. Mark. 21: pp 286–301 (2016) Published online 29 June 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nvsm.1561 Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Nonprofit Volunt. Sect. Mark., November 2016 DOI: 10.1002/nvsm 1479103x, 2016, 4, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.1561 by Massey University Library, Wiley Online Library on [22/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License