Rio Tinto and NBA: A Case Study in Collaborative Partnership in Africa

This case study examines the collaborative partnership between Rio Tinto Group and the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the context of African development. In 2014, Rio Tinto's CEO Alan Davies attended an NBA conference focused on socio-economic advancement in Africa, leading to discussions about potential partnerships. Rio Tinto, with a long history in Africa, aimed to enhance its business prospects while contributing to the development of African communities. The partnership with the NBA, exemplified by the first NBA game in Africa, sought to leverage mutual benefits, including brand equity enhancement for the NBA and community development for Rio Tinto. Effective communication, shared ideals, and value-based rationale were crucial for the success of this collaboration, with reporting mechanisms extending beyond conventional audits to include CSR and brand value assessments. The case suggests that despite debates about capitalistic influence, this venture shows signs of improving the lives of African communities associated with it.

Running head: COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
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1COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
Rio Tinto Group is one of the world’s leading producers or diamond and mineral
product. With its headquarters in London, UK, as well as Melbourne, Australia, the company
has its business spread all across the globe. Although majority of the raw materials come
from Africa, those African areas are still lagging behind in terms of socio-economic
developments.
The company engages in partnership with multiple localized firms in different nations
to enhance its business prospects. Rio Tinto has a long history of carrying out business
through collaborative partnership with China and Japan (Riotinto.com 2018). In 2014, the
CEO of Rio Tinto, Alan Davies attended the annual All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, US,
where the National Basketball (NBA) had organized a conference aimed at improving the
socio-economic status of the continent. This gave Davies a fine opportunity to pitch in for the
company, which in turn, was directly related to the development of the African countries like
Guinea or Mozambique, where Rio Tinto was hugely functional. Most of Rio Tinto’s
partnership ventures has this aim of developing Africa in the undercurrent. These
developmental programs and the business partnerships of Rio Tinto are mutually beneficial,
complementing each other’s success. The partners, acting as investment groups, helps to
ensure the safety and well-being of the local communities, which is of paramount importance
for all the parties in the business venture, as it is these communities who constitute the main
resources who are engaged in the work of extraction of the raw materials. The infrastructural
development acts as a catalyst for growth of business opportunities, both through greater
production as well as through the establishment of a customer base at the nations with whom
the company collaborates. The collaborative partnership of Rio Tinto engages players from
both the private as well as the public sectors, all of whom are offered a legitimate amount of
stake in the project outcomes (Riotinto.com. 2018). Strategic use of collaborative partnership
also helps the company to avoid risks.

2COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
All these propositions of mutual benefit through collaborative partnership were
forwarded to the NBA officials by Davies through a course of meetings and discussion,
which resulted in the arrangement of the 1st NBA game on African soil at Johannesburg,
South Africa on August 2014 (NBA.com. 2018). It was also a favorable opportunity for NBA
to improve its brand equity as well as business prospects, for which it had already engaged in
collaborative partnership with corporate stakeholders, governmental as well as non-
governmental organizations. In order for collaborative partnership to be effective, both Rio
Tinto and NBA must engage in constructive discussions where the interests of both the
parties will be adequately communicated across all the individuals and stakeholders, and
acknowledged by all. Such communication can lead to shared ideals and a value-based
rationale, in this case that of developing Africa through collaborative business processes.
Other than the conventional audit and financial reports on a biannual basis, reporting
mechanisms like those pertaining to the assessment of on-job performance or the rate of
brand value enhancement through CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Reporting may be
used in this case (Michelon, Pilonato and Ricceri 2015).
Therefore, it may be concluded by saying that the collaborative partnership of Rio
Tinto and NBA was a successful one with both the parties having considerable experience in
this domain of joint business ventures, where both have been successful. In spite of
widespread debates about capitalistic and colonial domination of Africa, this venture shows
signs improving the lifestyle of the African communities who are directly or indirectly
associated with it.

3COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
Reference List
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[Accessed 9 Oct. 2018].
Riotinto.com. 2018. Building Partnerships in Africa. [online] Available at:
http://www.riotinto.com/documents/Media-Speeches/130513_Building_Partnerships_in_Afri
ca_Alan_Davies.pdf [Accessed 9 Oct. 2018].
Riotinto.com. 2018. Trade and partnerships. [online] Available at:
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