Hybrid Organizations and Institutional Logics

While most organizations may easily be divided into generic categories, such as company, state or civic organization, others may not. They simultaneously face and incorporate institutional logics from different spheres of society, with the effect of organizational hybridity. This project studies both hybrid organizations per se, as well as the encounter of organizations from different societal spheres. In both cases, the perceived challenges and the attempts to manage them are focused.

Background and research questions:

Significant questions in the projects are:

What are the effects of organization hybridity, and when perceived negative, how are they handled in practice?
What challenges do civil society organizations meet under forms of marketization, and what strategies are used to manage them?

Research approach:

These questions have been studied through both qualitative and quantitative studies. The studies of civil society organizations, and their results, have been presented to and closely debated with civil society organizations and other practitioners.

Key findings:

While organizational hybridity potentially may work as a solution to external demands, it may also lead to mission drift and fundamental challenges difficult to solve – as demonstrated in empirical studies of state-owned companies (see Jutterström, 2019).
When civil society organizations face difficulties with the specific market order of the Swedish public procurement act (Lag om offentlig upphandling), they demonstrate a multiplicity in their strategic responses, both short and long term (see Jutterström & Segnestam Larsson, 2020).

Further information:

The project has, so far, been funded by Handelsbanken, KFO, Famna and Folksam.

Referenced publications:

Jutterström, M. (2019). Problematic Outcomes of Organization Hybridity – the case of Samhall. In: Alexius, S. & Furusten, S (Eds.). Managing Hybrid Organizations. London: Palgrave.

Jutterström, M., & Segnestam Larsson, L. (2020). Hur hanterar ideella organisationer LOU-upphandlingar? Fallstudier inom kvinnojour, äldreomsorg och personligt ombud. Stockholm. MUCF.