The Partnership Model: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands

In this model, the strengths of state, market, and civil society actors are combined to create an effective governance system that overcomes the weaknesses afflicting each individually. We use the term ‘partnership’ to refer to the way CSR public policies tend to be designed and implemented in the Nordic and Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden and Finland). These countries have ample experience in environmental management, to which the CSR component has now been added, and a favourable historical tradition of social negotiation, in which the relationship between government and enterprise is regarded as positive and includes aspects of collaboration. The Nordic model, which has its roots in a long-established practice that shows a preference for collaborative agreements and consensus between different types of organizations, is characterised basically by the use of partnership as a tool and the creation of an area of shared welfare. Ultimately, the urge to embrace public-private partnerships can be interpreted as a result of Scandinavian political culture, which several research projects point out puts stress on cooperation, consensus and participation (Greve, 2003).