Cross-sector social partnerships are often studied from a macro and meso perspective, also in an attempt to assess effectiveness and societal impact. This paper pays specific attention to the micro perspective, i.e. individual interactions between and within organizations related to partnerships that address the 'social good'. By focusing on the potential effects and mechanisms at the level of individuals and the organization(s) with which they interact, it aims to help fill a gap in research on partnerships, including more insight into the process of interaction. We conceptually explore microlevel interactions, and how partnership effects may 'trickle down' (e.g. from management to employees), or 'trickle up' (from employees to management), or 'trickle round' (e.g. between employees). Based on literature from various disciplines, we discuss how more generic theories on social exchange and contagion, social learning and attraction-selection-attrition can help shed light on micro-level interactions in a partnership, considering in particular transmission mechanisms via employees, top and middle management, and customers. In this way, partnerships can have wider benefits, as individuals have multiple roles and effects at the micro level can spread to the meso and macro levels as well. Implications for research and practice are outlined.

The authors investigate how perceived customer value can be translated into economic returns for online social network sites (SNS). The (joint) impact of two value propositions, social capital and entitativity, is assessed. Perceived economic and social customer value are investigated as outcomes of these propositions. Two studies reveal that entitativity and social capital impact members' willingness to pay (WtP) membership fees, either directly or indirectly. Moreover, the predictive ability of perceived economic and social customer value regarding WtP depends on the type of membership and the type of social network. SNS providers are advised to emphasize the benefits their users actually take advantage of. While for professional SNS, it seems advisable to stress both social and economic value, particularly for premium members, in socially oriented SNS premium members seem to be driven more by social value. Other theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The growing body of literature on partnerships has paid most attention to their implications at the macro level, for society, as well as the meso level, for the partnering organisations. While generating many valuable insights, what has remained underexposed is the micro level, i.e. the role of managers and employees in partnerships, and how their actions and interactions can have an effect on the spread and potential effectiveness of collaborative efforts. This article uses a case-study approach to empirically explore the patterns and potential boundary conditions of so-called 'trickle effects' of partnerships among individual actors within and outside partnering companies, which have thus far only been proposed conceptually. Based on interviews with employees from three different companies, we found an evidence of trickle-down and trickle-up effects with higher and lower management, as well as trickle-round effects with colleagues, family, friends and customers. The article discusses several partnership characteristics that seem to play a role, and notes implications for research and practice.

While most research on business–nonprofit partnerships has focused on macro and meso perspectives, this article pays attention to the micro level. Drawing on various theoretical perspectives from both marketing and management, this study conceptually relates the outcomes of active employee participation in such partnerships to consumer self-interest. This article also explores empirically whether and when self-interest affects consumers’ responses toward firms in relation to business–nonprofit partnerships. The study reveals that self-interest can directly influence consumers’ behavioral responses toward firms (i.e., switching and buying intentions, and word of mouth), whereas the impact on evaluative responses in terms of attitude and trust is only weak. The fit between the firm and the nonprofit partner (company–cause fit) turns out to moderate this effect, with consumer self-interest only playing a role if fit is high. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Purpose-The main goal of this study is to explore consumers' responses to social alliances, a specific type of corporate social marketing in which companies cooperate with non-profit organizations. This paper extends previous studies that suggested that a social marketing effort may be a 'double-edged sword' with regard to companies' marketing objectives. Design/methodology/approach-This study uses a 2 (social value orientation: prosocials/ proselfs) x 3 (company-cause fit: high/ low fit/ control group) betweensubjects experimental design. Findings-The findings suggest that while prosocials reward companies for social marketing alliances with high fit, proselfs punish the company. This effect can be explained by differences in prosocials' and proselfs' perceptions of the company's corporate abilities, which are influenced by the level of fit. Research limitations/implications-Future research could give more attention to low-fit alliances, and whether specific fit dimensions play a role. It could also identify ways to overcome negative responses by proselfs in case of high fit. Practical implications-Companies should be cautious in selecting a social marketing alliance partner as high fit is received favourably by some consumers, but unfavourably by others. While high fit has other benefits for companies, increasing consumers' awareness of strong corporate abilities is important. Originality/value-Previous studies suggested that different consumer types and a link between the company and the cause may impact the effectiveness of social marketing initiatives. Unlike extant studies, this paper explores the combined and hence moderating influence of both factors, and adds perceived corporate abilities as a mediating factor.

The growth of peer‐to‐peer sharing is crucially dependent on continued participation of current platform members and on them behaving prosocially towards other participants who are usually strangers. We propose a relational‐models view that revolves around the idea that how members perceive the relationships among participants on a sharing platform significantly affects these behavioural outcomes. We test this idea with a survey where we capture participants’ perceptions of sharing relationships using Fiske’s (1991) relational models ‒ communal sharing, market pricing, and equality matching. We show that communal sharing and equality matching foster prosocial behaviour (which we label sharing citizenship behaviour) and the willingness to continue participating, whereas market pricing does not have the negative effects we expected. Our work advances relational models theory in addition to contributing to the literature on the sharing economy.

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