Collaboration in subsistence marketplaces: Generating absorptive capacity for social innovation

Based upon empirical evidence revealed in the case of Grameen-Danone Foods , a social business developed by Groupe Danone and the Grameen Group, this research uses a case study approach to explain the capacities and processes employed to generate economic and social value via a collaborative inclusive business model. By relating empirical evidence and literature on social innovation and inclusive business models to literature on dynamic capabilities and absorptive capacity, we propose a model of a particular dynamic capability relevant to the context of social innovation; what we call relational capacity for social innovation. Also, by identifying conditions under which organizations may absorb new knowledge from cross-sector collaborations with non-traditional partners, we provide some insights into the questions "What drives performance differences in socially oriented business models?" and "How are a firm's innovative capacities influenced by cross-sector collaborations with non-traditional partners?".