Abstract
Little is known about how division of labor and coordination unfold in partnerships addressing grand challenges, where no one has formal authority to direct efforts. This study examines how goal-frames direct the division of labor and coordination in grand challenge partnerships, leveraging longitudinal data on a Swedish-based GC-partnership with the system-level goal of transforming cancer from a deadly to a curable or chronic disease. We develop a process model of how discrete “behavioral modes” of dividing labor and coordinating efforts, with different skill-related coordination cost properties, via two behavioral mechanisms – jointholism and relational blindness – can result in deteriorating cooperation. Our model provides a behavioral foundational explanation for why grand challenge partnerships frequently fail to meet expectations and remain viable.