Hybridity, Resilience, and Organizations

Abstract

This paper examines how hybridity relates to resilience across temporal, procedural, spatial, and perceptual dimensions, elaborating on the conditions under which hybridity fosters or hinders resilience. It examines state-owned enterprises (SOEs), public-private partnerships (PPPs), social enterprises (SEs), and private security organizations as examples of hybrid forms. SOEs are in relative decline in both industrialized countries and the Global South, with a shift from majority to minority government ownership, and adoption of PPPs as an alternative form of hybrid governance. Long-term contracts make it difficult to assess PPPs’ success, but doubts remain about their longevity. SEs in the United States and Europe adapt differently to their institutional environments due to resource availability and public funding. The rise of private security organizations challenges the state’s monopoly on violence, often pointing to the state’s fragility. The paper concludes that these hybrid forms exhibit varying levels of resilience and adaptability, influenced by their specific contexts and temporal dynamics.