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Defining Hybridity and Hybrid Contingencies in Public Organizations: An Alternative Conceptual Model

Contingency, Behavioural and Evolutionary Perspectives on Public and Nonprofit Governance

ISBN: 978-1-78560-429-4, eISBN: 978-1-78560-428-7

Publication date: 6 November 2015

Abstract

Purpose

The discussion about public sector performance is still present today, despite the profound research that has already tried to address this subject. Furthermore, theory links negative effects on organizational performance with increased levels of organizational complexity. However, literature thus far did not succeed to put forward a successful theory that explains why and how public organizations became increasingly complex. To answer this question, we argue that increased organizational complexity can be explained by viewing public organizations as the hybrid result of different institutional logics, which are shaped by various management views. However, former research mainly concentrated on the separate study of management views such as traditional public management (TPM), NPM, and post-NPM. Although appealing, research that approaches hybridity from this perspective is fairly limited.

Methodology/approach

We conducted a literature review in which we studied 80 articles about traditional public management, NPM, and post-NPM.

Findings

We found that these management views essentially differ on the base of three fault lines, depending on the level of the organizational culture. These fault lines, according to the management view, together result in nine dimensions. By combing dimensions of the different management views, we argue that a public organization becomes hybrid. Furthermore, in line with findings of contingency theory, we explain the level of hybridity might depend on the level of tight coupling for a given organization. Finally, we developed propositions that explain hybridity as the result of isomorphic forces, organizational change, and organizational resistance to change and that link hybridization with processes of selective coupling.

Originality/value

The value of this chapter lies in its real-life applicability.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the editors for their useful feedback and the opportunity they gave me to publish in this book. Furthermore, I am grateful to my supervisors prof. L. Berghman and prof. P. Matthyssens and my master students Yordi Chabot, Lynn Hens, and Lore Van Aert who conducted exploratory research as a first step to test these findings.

Citation

De Waele, L., Berghman, L. and Matthyssens, P. (2015), "Defining Hybridity and Hybrid Contingencies in Public Organizations: An Alternative Conceptual Model", Contingency, Behavioural and Evolutionary Perspectives on Public and Nonprofit Governance (Studies in Public and Non-Profit Governance, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 113-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2051-663020150000004005

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015 Emerald Group Publishing Limited