Who Are the Chosen Poor?: An Examination of Cross-Sector Partnerships for Development Projects Between MNCs and Local NGOs in Thailand

This PhD thesis aims to investigate the cross-sector collaboration or social partnership between Southern development non-governmental organisations (SDNGOs) and Northern multinational corporations (NMNCs) in terms of the selection process of their potential beneficiaries from the entire population in need for development projects. To address this question of ‘who are the (chosen) poor?’, this study’s core research questions ask (1) how do SDNGOs define, choose, or approach their potential intended beneficiaries and (2) what implications do SDNGOs consider when defining, choosing, and approaching potential beneficiaries for development projects with Northern MNCs?

To answer these questions, this study moves beyond the concept of ‘authentic partnership’—the most commonly used scholarly approach towards partnership under NGO and Development Studies—instead opting to employ the framework of development as service delivery. This thesis addresses a gap in the literature by utilising this framework to specifically analyse SDNGO–NMNC partnerships working on development projects to develop more comprehensive understandings of the practice on the ground, drawing on two case studies, EDF–IKEA Thailand and FOPDEV–Prudential Thailand.

Semi-structured interviews and focus groups involving both partnership members and their relevant stakeholders, including selected beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the case studies, were conducted to provide multidimensional perspectives for the analytical focus of this thesis, taking a qualitative and interpretivist philosophical approach, with particular emphasis on Bourdieu’s ‘theory of practice’. Moreover, this study uses NGOs’ conceptualisation of poverty; the stakeholder theory; the willingness, capacity, and capability of the beneficiaries; and the theory of project management as the means to analysing SDNGOs’ decision making with regard to their selection of their intended beneficiaries, providing fresh insights to the discipline of Development Studies.

This thesis ultimately highlights the significance of SDNGO–NMNC social partnerships with regard to their activities in the Global South, where there is a critical need for ongoing developmental efforts.