The overarching purpose of this study is to examine the role of the corporation as it expresses itself in a public-private partnership in development cooperation. The research purpose is expressed in the overarching research question: How does the role of the corporation express itself in a PPP in development cooperation? A further purpose of this essay is also to define the characteristics of a successful public-private partnership. Due to limited time and resources the study will be based on the empirical material from a case study on the Growing Sustainable Business initiative of UNDP. Three Swedish corporations participated in this program: ABB, Tetra Pak, and Ericsson. Through studies of ABB and Tetra Pak the essay sets out to answer the empirical research questions: (1) What is considered to be a successful PPP from the Swedish experience? And (2) How does the Swedish experience match the model (of a PPP) presented in the theoretical literature?

Stakeholder theory and the theory of corporate social responsibility will be used to explain the role of corporations in public-private partnerships in the context of development cooperation. Public-private partnerships in their theoretical conceptualization are hybrid organization between the state, the market and in some cases also civil society. In order to evaluate the success of such constellations this study draws on an article of Faranak Miraftab, in which not only the effectiveness but also the equity of a PPP is discussed. The material for this study was based on primary sources in the form of interviews conducted with ABB, Tetra Pak, and Sida.

Theoretically, the study shows that an increased legitimate power for the corporation comes with a PPP. However, in order for the PPP to be successful for all partners there is a need for increased governmental regulation. The success of a PPP also depends on the behavior of the corporation, and what its interests are. The conclusions drawn from the empirical study is that the role of the corporation changes from the traditional role of shareholder interest to a wider responsibility towards stakeholders. The study can be seen as an initial study for further research in the field of PPPs and development cooperation, but also for studies relating to the responsibilities of corporations as they gain greater political influence.