Management challenges of hybrid organizations

Abstract

The recent years have demonstrated a considerable growth in number of hybrid organizations. Hybrid organizations straddle the state, market and civil society implementing public duties with state funding and private control over ownership. Hybrids often have multiple goals and a mix of operational form borrowed from private company and government agency. Hybrid organizations represent a mixture of different sectors therefore they tend to receive criticism that they are generally lack of legitimacy and give rise to conflicts of interests.

The aim of this research to define management challenges arising in non-governmental hybrid organizations in Russia and Finland. To achieve this goal, qualitative methods were chosen: documentary analysis of official regulations of organizations, analysis of previous researches on management challenges of hybrid organizations and SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis was conducted in four NGOs. The chose of organization is based on David Billis’s classification of hybrid organizations. On the basis of the nature and ownership (founded by organization or by individuals); governance mechanisms and resources (role of paid staff in management, absence or presence of private and public actors in governing board) Billis defined four types of hybridity: organic shallow and organic entrenched hybrids, enacted shallow and enacted entrenched hybrids. The results of the study present the main challenges which Russian and Finnish NGOs face and the possible solutions to these problems.