The influence of board members perception on organizational identity

Background and research question: In focus of this paper is the role and behavior of the board of directors in hybrid arrangements. Especially interesting is how the relationship between members of the board and internal and... [ view full abstract ]

Background and research question: In focus of this paper is the role and behavior of the board of directors in hybrid arrangements. Especially interesting is how the relationship between members of the board and internal and external stakeholders influence how the members of the board interpret and manage the hybrid context.
Hybrid organizations are generally considered as organizations that blend characteristics from more than one type of organization and/or sector (public, private and third sector). Because hybrid organizations operate in more than one sector and have adopted characteristics from more than one type of organization, they are influenced by stakeholders with often contradictory expectations and demands. Previous research on hybrid organizations has focused mainly on defining the phenomenon and its characteristic, i.e. structural issues. Until now few studies have investigated how the ambiguous context and the conflicting demands from stakeholders influence how members of the organization interpret and manage the hybrid context, which includes board members. Hence, the question asked in this paper is:
How does the ambiguous context of hybrid organizations influence the identity of board members and how does this identity influence how they govern hybrid organizations and manage stakeholder relations?
Theory: In order to investigate the research question a framework consisting of institutional theory and identity will be developed. Focus will be on the concept of institutional logics related to identity and how members of boards interpret and adhere to different institutional logics. By applying this perspective this study will draw on the previous studies of hybrid.
Method: This study is based on empirical data from in-depth interviews with board members of corporations owned by local governments in Sweden. The study aims to unpack individual interpretations and the factors influencing those interpretations.
Findings and contributions: The results of this study show how the interpretation of the hybrid context influences how individual board members govern an organization. The underlying mechanisms seem to be personal and political preferences. Thus individual board members own interest and political belief thus influence decisions made by the board. If one logic becomes dominant on a board the other is likely to be less influential. The question in those cases is to what extent the organization then in fact is a hybrid organization. If one logic dominates the organization is not a hybrid organization. This study thus increases our knowledge of how hybrid organizations are created by showing that it is not only the structure of an organization or legal aspect that makes it hybrid, but also the identity of the people governing the organization. The results of the study also show that if the board composition changes over time it is possible that the dominant logic of the board also changes and with that the hybrid character of the organization.