Governing Hybrid Organisations: Exploring Diversity of Institutional Life

Intuitively, organisations can easily be categorised as ‘public’ or ‘private’. However, this book questions such a black and white dichotomy between public and private, and seeks a deeper understanding of hybrid organisations. These organisations can be found at micro, meso and macro levels of societal activity, consisting of networks between companies, public agencies and other entities. The line between these two realms is increasingly blurred — giving rise to hybrid organisations. Governing Hybrid Organisations presents an engaging discussion around hybrid organisations, highlighting them as important and fascinating examples of modern institutional diversity. Chapters examine the changing landscape of service delivery and the nature and governance of hybrid organisations, using international examples and cases from different service contexts. The authors put forward a clear analytical framework for understanding hybrid governance, looking at strategy and performance management. This text will be valuable for students of public management, public administration, business management and organisational studies, and will also be illuminating for practising managers.

Table of Contents:
Table of contents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Monsters on the run: Introduction to governing hybrid organisations 2 Why do monsters exist? Public, private, and hybrid organisations in perspective 3 How to tame monsters? Hybridity and its variants 4 Setting the path for monsters: How do hybrids explore their strategic options and objectives? 5 Tracing the footprints of monsters: The performative orientation of organisations 6 Chartering the terrain of monsters: Exploring strategy-performance interfaces in hybrid activities 7 Are they monsters after all? Understanding the governance of hybrid organisations References Index

About the Author :
Jan-Erik Johanson is a Professor of Administrative Science at the Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Finland, and the Director of the research group on Administrative Science. Jarmo Vakkuri is a Professor of Local Public Economics at the Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Finland, and the Director of the research group on Public Financial Management.

Review :
"Increasingly, the scholarly and practitioner communities recognize the organizational and social significance of hybrid organizations and processes of 'hybridity.' But theory and research have not kept pace with the rapid development of hybrids. Not until now. The authors provide a big step forward in our understanding of the causes, workings and implications of hybrid organizations. Their work is deeply informed by contemporary organization theory but also goes beyond it with a penetrating analysis of the social meaning of these new myth-breaking organizations. The book should of interest to anyone interested in hybrid organizations...or organizations, period." - Barry Bozeman, Director, Center for Organization Research and Design, Arizona State University, USA "Hybrid organisations flourish everywhere. For government agencies, hybridising with private businesses can enrich the capacities of government but also add extra layers of complexity. In this book, Johanson and Vakkuri offer a nuanced interpretation of the governance of hybrids. If you are interested in hybrid organisations, read this book." - Irvine Lapsley, Professor of Accounting Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, UK