This document discusses hybrid organizations that mix institutional logics from the public, private, and third sectors. It presents research on dimensions of hybridity and the opportunities and risks organizations face. Specifically, it examines autonomized agencies that are hybrid in their structure, strategy, and governance. While hybrids can increase efficiency and innovation, they also potentially face issues like unfair competition, cultural conflicts, and opportunistic behavior. The document concludes that every hybrid is unique and benefits must be balanced with risks that emerge from the hybrid nature.

1. The many facets of hybrid organizations
Bringing different research strands together
Presentation prepared for discussion at Tampere University, December 2018
Dr. Philip Marcel Karré
Assistant professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
karre@essb.eur.nl
www.hybridorganizations.com

2. Hybridity and hybrid organizations
• Trends in public service provision: tradi onal public administra on →
New Public Management → New Public Governance
• Sedimentation of institutional logics and governance modes
• Hybrid organizations mix institutional logics and governance modes of
the public, the private and the Third sector.
• As a result, they ‘involve a variety of stakeholders, pursue multiple and
often conflicting goals and engage in divergent or inconsistent
activities’ (Mair, Mayer & Lutz, 2015)
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

3. 1. Public → Third
2. Public → private / Third
3. Public → private
4. Third → public
5. Third → public / private
6. Third → private
7. Private → public
8. Private → public / Third
9. Market → Third
Billis, 2010 Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

4. My own research
• What makes an organization hybrid? (dimensions of hybridity)
• What are the effects of hybridity?
• Research on autonomized agencies (Karré, 2011; Brandsen & Karré,
2011) and social enterprises (Karré, 2018).
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

5. Autonomized agencies
Hybrid on a variety of dimensions:
• Structure and activities
• Legal form, ownership, activities, funding, market environment
• Strategy and culture
• Strategic orientation, value orientation
• Governance and politics
• Relationship with public principal, managerial autonomy
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

6. Opportunities and risks of public/private
hybrids
Opportunities Risks
Economic aspects Increased turnover and
profit (public savings)
Unfair competition
Performance related
aspects
Increased efficiency and
effectiveness, innovation
Neglect of public task
Cultural aspects Increased customer
orientation, diversity
Cultural conflicts
Governance related
aspects
More effective
governance
Opportunistic behaviour
Karré, 2011
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

7. Social enterprises
• Their primary goal is to generate social impact rather than profit for
the company’s owners or shareholders.
• They trade goods and services on the market and do so in an
enterprising and innovative manner.
• Profits are mainly used to achieve social goals.
• The organization's management is transparent about its actions and is
accountable to its employees, customers and other stakeholders.
(Doherty e.a., 2014, p. 417; Teasdale, 2012a, p. 100)
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

8. Opportunities and risks social enterprises
Positive effects Negative effects
Mission Innovation and synergy Ambiguity, mission drift,
legitimacy issues
Financial resources Different sources of funding Constraints in funding
Human resources Diversity, multidisciplinarity Conflicts over values and
interests
Based on Doherty et al., 2014
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

9. Conclusions
• Multidimensional character of hybrid organizations.
• Every hybrid organization is unique.
• Intensity of mix can change over time.
• Benefits and risks are two sides of the same coin.
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)

10. Issues with hybridity
• Power
• Who is in the driving seat?
• Primacy of politics in defining public value?
• Legitimacy
• Source?
• Accountability
• To whom?
• From vertical to horizontal accountability regimes?
• Value pluralism
• How to manage conflicting values?
• How to avoid mission drift?
• Synergies?
Dr. P.M. Karré (karre@essb.eur.nl)