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Hybrids: where are we?

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  • Claude Ménard

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 UFR02 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - École d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Abstract

We owe Williamson for the formal introduction of hybrid organizations as essential building blocks in ‘the institutional structure of production'. The analysis of these institutional arrangements, which culminated in The Mechanisms of Governance , provided a unified approach to the variety of setting within which transactions are embedded, opening a new perspective on a cornerstone of modern economies. This essay explores the past, present, and future of this breakthrough. First, it reviews the progressive integration of hybrids as a category of their own in the classic ‘make-or-buy' model, inserting hybrids as an ‘intermediate' form different from markets in that adaptation cannot be done unilaterally and different from ‘unified organizations' in that adaptation cannot be done by fiat. Second, it shows how this initial characterization of hybrids, besides providing a coherent approach to empirical research available at the time, gave a powerful impulse to new contributions, identifying more rigorously the fundamental features of hybrids, throwing light on why firms go hybrid, and explicating the governance structure chosen. Last, it offers insights on a research program that remains a work in progress, delineating new terrains to explore and new puzzles to solve.

Suggested Citation

  • Claude Ménard, 2022. "Hybrids: where are we?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-04012150, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-04012150
    DOI: 10.1017/S1744137421000230
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04012150
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Contracts; decision rights; governance; hybrids; legal regime; organization; property rights;
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