Hybrid Organizations in Social Service Delivery in Quasimarkets

The Case of Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID4847451
AuthorsStephan Groh (0000-0002-0537-9107, University of Konstanz, corresponding author), Stephan Grohs (Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany)
Year2014
Volume58
Issue11
Pages1425-1445
Publication date2014-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764214534671
OpenAlexW2123817276
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited43

With the introduction of quasimarket principles in the mid-1990s, the German social service sector faced several challenges from above (the state), within (the organizations), and outside (new competitors and "players"). Within the social services, considerable differences prevail between subsectors; although all reforms have been oriented at the principle of (quasi)markets, the governance arrangements implemented have been rather divergent across subfields. This article compares the effects of the introduction of quasimarket principles in two subfields with very different governance architectures: youth welfare and old-age care. Basic findings include different degrees and variants of hybridity at the meso-level of local welfare arrangements as well as at the micro-level of the organizations in the field. The analysis shows a considerable effect of different governance regimes on the openness of the subfields to new competitors (profit-oriented and voluntary), the reactions of established third sector organizations (internal reforms and hybridization), and the modes of political steering (with varying degrees of informality and oversight

Business · Competitor analysis · Corporate governance · Economic system · Economics · German · Hybridity · Management · Openness to experience · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Service (business) · Service delivery framework · Social Welfare · Sociology · Welfare state · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Marketing · Social Policy and Reform Studies