How do you get adversaries to work together? Using a complementary case study of the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles and Fossil Free Sweden, Dr. Julia Grimm and her collaborators Rebecca Rühle (VU Amsterdam) and Juliane Reinecke (University of Oxford) show how the diverging goals of different participants in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) can jeopardize collaboration. However, this problem can be addressed by promoting deliberation within a shared lifeworld à la Habermas and opening up dynamic spaces for substantive collaboration in which economic and normative rationalities, in particular, can coexist. The research findings presented and discussed in this hybrid RMI research seminar have important practical implications for MSIs and their participants such as businesses, unions, and civil society organizations.
Dr. Julia Grimm is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Organization and Society at Stockholm University, Stockholm Business School. With a background in organization and management studies and qualitative research methods, her primary research interests include phenomena such as transnational and collaborative governance, collective action and social movements, and multi-stakeholder partnerships - all in the context of global supply chains. She works on issues of social and environmental sustainability, drawing primarily on framing and paradox theory.
The RMI Research Seminars provide a forum for discussion of the latest findings in research areas that are consistent with or complementary to those of the Reinhard Mohn Institute at Witten/Herdecke University. The speakers are usually international, young and/or interdisciplinary scientists. This online event is open to all interested parties. If you would like to participate, please register by email: rmi@uni-wh.de. We will then send you the zoom link.