# The Power of Community Partnerships in Times of Crisis

**Authors:** Jason Miklian, John E. Katsos, Angelika Rettberg, Jennifer Oetzel
**Published in:** *Harvard Business Review*, 2021
**Canonical URL:** https://miklian.org/papers/the-power-of-community-partnerships-in-times-of-crisis

## Abstract

The Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) is one of Colombia’s largest and most important businesses. But in 2008, coffee prices were crashing and long-simmering conflicts between the government and insurgents ignited into all-out war in several coffee regions. Instead of ramping up armed security at headquarters or withdrawing from precarious areas, FNC’s CEO, Luis Genaro Muñoz, decided to implement a 10-year plan of community engagement and peacebuilding trainings. The FNC case illustrates how partnerships with their communities can deliver economic advantages to companies, as those that fully embed typically gain a legitimacy that improves their security and profitability and those of their employees. The idea that a company truly cares about the welfare of its workers and their community can be powerful, especially in places where people have been ignored or even victimized by their own government.

**Keywords:** community partnerships, crisis, business, peacebuilding

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## Citation

Jason Miklian, John E. Katsos, Angelika Rettberg, Jennifer Oetzel. "The Power of Community Partnerships in Times of Crisis." *Harvard Business Review*, 2021.

## About the Author

Jason Miklian is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo. ORCID: [0000-0003-1227-0975](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1227-0975). Google Scholar: [profile](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RHlevGEAAAAJ&hl=en).