Lessons from a dissolving interorganizational collaboration

The dissolution of nonprofit interorganizational collaborations is an understudied, but relatively common phenomenon. This study uses interviews, field notes, and organizational documents to describe the tensions that emerged during the dissolution of an interorganizational collaboration among service providers, faith-based organizations, and community leaders and stakeholders aimed at addressing homelessness in rural Appalachia. Drawing on tension-centered theories of interorganizational collaboration, the analysis presents three tensions between community and fragmentation, organizational and collective accomplishments, and economic vs. social interests. The analysis demonstrates how the negotiation of tensions sustained collaboration, and how tensions were resolved through organizational dissolution. The conclusions present three lessons for dissolving community organizations that could facilitate future collaboration and research, emphasizing the importance of credit-sharing as a means of sustaining productive tensions in interorganizational collaborations.