ABSTRACT
Partnerships come into being because of the development of social relationships through mutual trust and commitment. In partnerships, however, trust relates to agreement between partners to work together for a common purpose, with all partners committing resources to achieve the desired outcomes. To safeguard their legitimacy, in order that they are allowed to continue with their activities in the face of a failure in organisational performance, businesses may adopt a number of normative strategies. For business management, the success of co-operation depends on whether interaction is based on common interests and on whether the partners remain unconstrained to follow their own interests. From a business point of view, co-operation with environmental associations is linked with an ecologically proactive business strategy. Greenpeace's goal is to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. Co-operation based on norm establishment develops environmental standards and voluntary or self-regulation for a section of the corporate value chain.
