Robust Collective Impact: How Can a Company Make Collective Impact Sustainable in a Long Run?

Abstract

In this study, we delve into a question as to whether and how collective impact can persist. The literature shows that internal conflict is a critical challenge for achieving collective impact. In particular, where a company seeks a collective impact, internal conflict intensifies in backbone organizations. The case of H-OnDream, a company-initiated program intended to nurture and support nascent social ventures in South Korea, which has seen significant social impact over its 10 years of work, shows that companies can take the initiative to develop collective impact by employing the three strategies of gazing, abstracting, and spacing. These findings bear on a significant challenge in collective impact, i.e., how to produce a collective impact and demonstrating the ways collective impact can be achieved over the long run.