Konsten att hantera samhällsnyttiga- och affärsmässiga principer : En studie om hur det kommunala bostadsaktiebolaget hanterar konkurrerande krav.

Sammanfattning: The municipal housing company is a form of hybrid organization whose operations meet demands and expectations. These requirements can be perceived as competitive as the company is expected to act commercially but also fulfill a socially beneficial purpose. A municipal housing company operates in institutional environments where it influences and is influenced by its surroundings. Previous research has identified the concept of hybrid organization and the emergence of institutional logic. With this study, we have investigated how competing requirements from business and socially beneficial principles are handled internally within a municipal housing company. The purpose of this study is to describe and explain how competing requirements from socially beneficial and business principles are handled in municipal housing companies. Our study is conducted based on the theory of institutional logic. We have studied which strategies the municipal housing company uses in its operational management when they meet competing requirements. To fulfill our purpose and answer the question, we interviewed six employees with different positions within Halmstad Fastighet AB. The empirical material has been compared with our theoretical framework and then we have a discussion about how the company handles the competing requirements. The results of our study show that the organization defies institutional logic and acts more rationally than expected when dealing with the requirements of business and socially beneficial principles in its operations. Our conclusion is that we can see elements of all three strategies in the business: the decoupling, compromise and combination strategy. We note that a balance between business and socially beneficial principles is not possible as there is a dominant requirement. In order for a municipal housing company to succeed in handling competing requirements, the company needs to change shape. We also see a purpose in maintaining the ambiguity surrounding the prioritization of business and socially beneficial principles.