ABSTRACT
This chapter takes an evolutionary perspective to chart how the growth of the housing association sector in England from a small-scale complementary service provider to the main provider of social housing over the past 30 years has led to changes in corporate governance structures and relationships. It draws on the Kanter et al. (1992) ‘Big Three’ model of organizational change to illuminate three sets of interconnected forces that have led to changes in the governance of English housing associations. First, it explores the impact of ‘macro-evolutionary Factors’, such as increasing financial independence from the state, changes to external regulation, codes of governance and provision for payment of board members. Second, it considers the role of ‘micro-evolutionary, life-cycle factors’, such as stage of development, size and organizational complexity and structure. Finally, it considers the ‘political dimensions of change’ at sub-organizational level from the perspectives of change recipients, board members and their interactions with executive directors in the context of organizational restructuring. It uses qualitative case study evidence to explore the political tensions arising from the streamlining of organization and governance following large-scale mergers in the sector.
