Governing hybrid organisations: Lessons from the provision of local sports facility services in 2020s Finland

Abstract

The Finnish welfare society is based on strong public and civic sectors with an emerging private sector. In the context of sports, the public sector's statutory task has been to provide opportunities and facilities for citizens, whereas the civic sector has been responsible for organising activities. However, since the 1990s, economic recessions, new public management doctrines, and other societal changes have mixed this institutionalised setting and increased hybridity in the provision of public services. This study examines how hybridity is manifested and governed in the provision of local sports facility services in contemporary Finland through a literature review and a multiple case study focusing on three sports facility construction projects. The projects had partners from all societal sectors and, organisationally, assumed different forms: privately owned, sports clubs co‐owned, and municipally owned enterprises. The case data consist of thematic interviews and project documentation and are analysed with theory‐driven content analysis. The study deepens understanding of the mixed ownership structures, various funding arrangements, control mechanisms, and management of goal incongruency found in hybrid facility‐provider organisations. Additionally, it describes changing roles and challenges that municipalities face in hybrid settings and develops recommendations for future research on hybridity and sports policy.Points for practitioners Note that the capacity to steer the operations of hybrids in municipal services provision can be obtained in various ways which do not entail formal ownership. Deepen your understanding of the goals and commitment incentives of the different stakeholders planned to be involved in the hybrid project. Consider jointly written formal contracts as tools for managing goal ambiguity and incongruence and for creating trust in the hybrid arrangement. Examine comprehensively the resourcing of the facility‐provider organisation in the operational phase of the facility when evaluating the funding arrangements and public value creation of hybrid facility projects. Prepare to become a practitioner and the object subjected to more diverse forms of control when committing to hybrid arrangements with various stakeholders.