ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the opportunities and risks concerning value creation by hybrid organisations. These organisations mix the characteristics and logics conventionally ascribed to public, private and third-sector organisations. By doing so, it is expected that they will create value, such as synergy and innovation. But hybridity does not necessarily lead to the creation of value, as it can also result in ambiguity, mission drift, accountability challenges and clashes between competing logics. In this chapter, the opportunities and risks of value creation by hybrid organisations are examined by taking a closer look at the two types of hybrids: state-owned enterprises/quangos and social enterprises. The chapter examines what makes these organisations hybrid and what their specific opportunities and risks are concerning value creation. The chapter concludes with several general conclusions and a discussion of avenues for further research as well as for the world of organisational practice.