**7. Discussion**

Within the theoretical framework of Cross-Sector Social Partnerships [CSSPs], strategic communication and dialogue and by use of an example drawn from a case study of a CSSP, this article has argued that partnership-wide meetings can be analyzed and practiced on much the same terms as ordinary interpersonal and inter-group dialogues. Importantly, the article has outlined a framework for analysis and delineated its potential through an analysis of a partnership-wide dialogue conducted in a local CSSP for social change.

The analysis shows that the change project was developed in a partnership-wide dialogical process. The dialogue was goal-oriented, which we see from the third turn, insofar as it temporarily closes the dialogue. In order to analyze partnershipwide meetings as dialogue, we have drawn on a number of parameters and elements selected from various theoretical fields [turns, adjacency pairs, opening, closing, goal orientation, sequence etc]. However, if we compare partnership-wide

dialogues with interpersonal and inter-group dialogues, we see two major challenges, the first one being how we delimit very big dialogue units, and the second how we determine the functional relations between these units.

We have proposed considering a meeting between two or more persons at a certain place and in a certain space of time as a unit [[51]: 214]. This is nevertheless problematic since partnership meetings between several people often involve reorganization. New people join meetings while others are not invited or do not show up. In our example it was characteristic of the change process that the employees in the private company and the other stakeholders were invited to participate. Their active participation was required especially in the first part of the process [bottom-up approach] and less so in the second part [top-down approach]. It was also characteristic that the public partner was actively involved. A close investigation of the role distribution between the private company and the public partner shows that the public partner played a well-defined and somewhat alternative role. The role of the public partner can be characterized as that of legitimization, change agent and professional sparring partner [e.g. social legislation and political 'winds']. For example, the public partner helped the company to establish a sense of urgency [61] by explaining to the employees why social responsibility is a common responsibility and issue. In order to analyze the specific roles of the participants, it is necessary to delimit the dialogue units more rigorously.

As for the functional relations, we have established different kinds of functions such as initiative functions [questions, requests etc] and interactive functions [e.g. evaluation]. For example, the question raised at the opening seminar had an initiating function. The relation between the question and the reaction/answer was linked by an expectation, i.e. a so-called preferred answer. Other channels than meetings and seminars are possible, and this is why we propose to characterize the form of interaction as multimedial. Thus, in order to further analyze the functional relations, it is necessary to define the different channels used.

The above case shows that the delimitation of structural dialogue parameters was possible, and that the approach or the method was successful in lasting change. Today, both partners organize their work in new ways. Referring to the evaluation of the project, the top management in the private company of the case study mentions, for example, that the new models and tools that have been developed have helped the company to save time and money. Furthermore, the top management mentions that the cross-sector collaboration has resulted in innovative thinking:

*In the beginning, it appears that the pressure from the public sector to take on a social responsibility or engage in a partnership is problematic because it is detrimental to competitiveness. However, new methods and new technologies often follow which become business activities themselves [participant evaluation, top management].*

The partnership can be seen as an example of social change through organizational learning in a CSSP, since the structure, culture and processes have changed in both organizations [62]. The dialogue forum created by the partners has paved the way for cross-sector learning. The main condition for creating this forum was that at the very beginning the partners made a strong effort to create a 'we' contract and identity [joint purpose, joint value creation, mutual benefits, clear role distribution etc]. Management's dialogue with employees and other stakeholders is enhanced by projects like the one described here. It is clearly in the interest of the organization to develop a new, more consciously motivated dialogue culture as a result of organizations' more stakeholder-oriented approaches and

*How to Do CSR with Dialogic Meeting Talk: A Conceptual Framework for Managing Change… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94345*

new role in society. The role of organizations has changed, and we have shown that dialogue is an important tool in the management of change and learning. Organizations clearly need to motivate employees to participate in a new form of dialogue with new roles in relation to central stakeholders like customers. Through a development project like the one described here, employees and other stakeholders can become dialogue partners. Based on our analytical framework and exemplary analysis, we suggests that partnership-wide dialogues for change must be clearly structured in order to ensure participation, common understanding and commitment.
