Development, forms and effects of governance structures for enabling sustainable coexistence of balanced institutional logics: case study in new French energy R&D collaborative organizations

Building on the creation of new forms of collaborative research organizations in the French renewable energy sector, this article explores which organizational governance structures are developed by hybrid organizations in order to sustain balanced institutional logics co-existence. Literature on institutional plurality and hybrid organizations highlights the importance of organizational governance structures and practices in a context of institutional plurality. However, there has been limited temporal analysis for understanding how these organizational governances develop and how these governance mechanisms affect hybrid sustainability. Based on a case study approach, findings suggest that hybrids develop different organizational governances. Contractual and hierarchical governance structures address risks related to hybrid's multiple goals and means, but they are not sufficient to allow sustainability. Relational and heterarchical governances address risks related to hybrid's multiple goals, values and norms. The establishment of combined organizational governances contributes to the sustainability of balanced co-existing logics in a hybrid organization. The paper contributes to literature on hybrids' response to institutional plurality by exploring how organizational governance structures develop and how they influence hybrids' capacity to sustain balanced logics coexistence.