Theoretical background
Hybridization has received growing attention from researchers and practioners in the past years (Economist, 2009, Battilana&Lee, 2014, Mair et al, 2015). Hybrid organizations do not fit neatly into established categories of economic sectors (the business, public, and non-profit sectors). These types of organizations operate in a context of institutional plurality and combine elements of multiple, often conflicting institutional logics.
Social enterprises are widely recognized as hybrid organizations (Billis, 2010), they combine and balance both business (for-profit) and nonprofit logics at their cores (Battilana&Lee, 2014). This paper will examine the implications of this increasing hybridization by examining specific cases focusing upon social enterprises in co-operation with public service organizations. These cases represent a business-nonprofit-public hybrid zone (Billis, 2010). Hybrid forms can create serious challenges, but also can improve organizational governance and performance through structural innovations (Smith, 2010).
This type of co-operation can lead to disruptive changes in the traditional service delivery models. It could happen that the public organization only initiates the service, while the operation and the further development are taken over by other actors. There are a growing number of cases, however, when even the concept and the service itself originates outside any public organization, and the public sector remain only a sole contributor or beneficiary of the service.
Research questions
Our paper asks whether and how hybrid organizations combine multiple institutional logics, focusing particularly on organizational governance and inter-organizational relationship with the public sector. At the boundaries of three (business, public and the third) sectors the social enterprises faces external and internal tensions. The aim of this research is to identify the main advantages and challenges of the co-operations between social enterprises and public sector organizations. It is expected to better understand how the traditional public service delivery models change.
Methodolgy
The main aim is to understand how multiple institutional logics can coexist and are balanced at the organizational level. The paper adopts an explorative research design and use findings to build – rather than test – theory. Case study carried out by participative observations and interviews was selected as research method. Four organizations were selected with many years experiences in the field of co-operation with public sector organizations: Járókelő.hu, K-Monitor Association, Speak out Association (Prison Radio) and MagikMe Ltd.
References
Economist, The (2009). The rise of the hybrid company. http://www.economist.com/node/15011307
Julie Battilana & Matthew Lee (2014) Advancing Research on Hybrid Organizing – Insights from the Study of Social Enterprises, The Academy of Management Annals,8:1, 397-441, DOI:10.1080/19416520.2014.893615
Billis, David, (ed.) (2010) Hybrid organizations and the third sector: challenges for practice, theory and policy. Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan,
Santos, F.M. A positive theory of social entrepreneurship, Journal of Business Ethics (2012) 111: 335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1413-4
Steven Rathgeb Smith (2010) Hybridization and nonprofit organizations: The governance challenge, Policy and Society, 29:3, 219-229
