Cross-sector partnerships formed to address societal challenges are widely advocated and increasingly common. Joint goal setting is an essential phase in the collaborative process that can determine the course of a partnership. Yet, little is known about how cross-sector goals change and evolve because goal alignment between partners is often taken for granted. In this article, we qualitatively investigate a case of goal setting within a high-profile partnership across the academic and business sectors called Action2020, which aimed at accelerating global corporate sustainability action based on the planetary boundaries framework. We find that cross-sector goal setting is an iterative, multiphase process complicated by deep-seated sectoral differences that trigger paradoxes and conflict. Our main contribution is a process model of cross-sector goal setting comprising three phases: coalescing, protecting, and reconciling sectoral interests. Our model offers three unique insights that advance the cross-sector paradox literature: Altering the cross-sector goal can harness new opportunities of key turning points in the collaboration, shifting the opposing poles of paradoxes may be a necessary management approach to overcome collaborative barriers, and intermediaries may dampen the ambition of collaborative goals in order to temper paradoxes. We also contribute to the corporate sustainability literature and discuss the implications of moving from organization-centric to systems-based sustainability targets.

中文翻译：

---

不断演变的悖论和跨部门目标的过程研究：加速全球可持续发展的伙伴关系


为应对社会挑战而建立的跨部门伙伴关系得到广泛倡导，并且日益普遍。共同目标设定是协作过程中的一个重要阶段，可以决定伙伴关系的进程。然而，人们对跨部门目标如何变化和演变知之甚少，因为合作伙伴之间的目标一致通常被认为是理所当然的。在本文中，我们定性调查了一个跨学术和商业领域的备受瞩目的合作伙伴关系“Action2020”中的目标设定案例，该案例旨在加速基于地球边界框架的全球企业可持续发展行动。我们发现，跨部门目标设定是一个反复的、多阶段的过程，由于根深蒂固的部门差异而引发悖论和冲突，因此变得更加复杂。我们的主要贡献是跨部门目标设定的流程模型，包括三个阶段：合并、保护和协调部门利益。我们的模型提供了三种独特的见解，推动了跨部门悖论文献的发展：改变跨部门目标可以利用合作中关键转折点的新机会，改变悖论的对立面可能是克服协作障碍的必要管理方法，中介机构可能会抑制合作目标的雄心，以缓和悖论。我们还为企业可持续发展文献做出贡献，并讨论从以组织为中心的可持续发展目标转向基于系统的可持续发展目标的影响。