Alex Gillett

A multi-organizational cross-sectoral collaboration: empirical evidence from an 'Empty Homes' project

This paper analyses the processes, outcomes and tensions of a cross-sectoral collaborative venture involving several organizations with multiple logics and is based on empirical evidence from a collaborative ‘Empty Homes’ project. While, paradoxically, multiple logics are a basis for the partnerships existence (for example ‘value for money’ and local community benefit) to achieve these different aims simultaneously, its other aims or logics at times conflicted, resulting in intra-partnership tensions. Hence we offer novel insights into the practical aspects of collaboration at a local level and on multi-organizational relationships.

Beer and the boro - A perfect match!

Although football clubs (FCs) as firms are relatively unsustainable from a purely financial perspective, the club brands appear highly sustainable in comparison with many other industries (Kuper and Szymanski, 2012). While the ownership and the companies running the clubs may change, the club brands themselves appear to be more stable than in other industries where firms and brands go out of business, relocate or diversify to a far greater extent (e.g. Hannah, 1997). This may be because they are less vulnerable to competition — FCs have historically been geographic, and while their catchment area may shrink during less successful periods, it will not disappear entirely. Furthermore, rival foreign clubs do not enter and supply soccer at lower prices (although foreign investors may bid to take over the ownership) and although English clubs as a whole could fall behind foreign competitors and lose their best players, foreign clubs have their own problems of finance and management (Kuper and Szymanski, 2012). Put succinctly, society can keep unprofitable clubs going cheaply: bank managers and tax collectors have historically appeared reluctant to close century-old clubs -and so society swallowed the losses. Perhaps clubs were and still are too small to fail. At the same time, the brand loyalty of supporters means that no matter how lousy the product, a hard core of customers will continue to purchase: “Soccer is more than just a business. No one has their ashes scattered down the aisle at Tesco” (Taylor, 1998, cited by Kuper and Szymanski, 2012, p.82).

Shadow hybridity and the institutional logic of professional sport: Perpetuating a sporting business in times of rapid social and economic change

Purpose Existing studies of the finance of English Association Football (soccer) have tended to focus on the sport’s early years, or on the post-1992 Premiership era. We examine a case from the turbulent 1980s charting the struggle for economic survival of one club in a rapidly changing financial, economic, political, and demographic landscape. Design/methodology/approach We investigate the financial difficulties of a sport business, Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company Limited (MFAC), examining the broader economic context, drawing on unseen archival sources dating from the 1980s to analyse the relationship between club, local and national government, and the regional economy. Findings We examine not only the financial management of the football club but also analyse the interventionist role of the local authority in supporting the club which had symbolic value for the local community. Practical implications This paper is relevant to policy makers interested in the provision of local sports facili...

Dynamic Sublimes, Changing Plans, and The Legacy of A Megaproject: The Case of the 1966 Soccer World Cup

Global sporting events such as the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup have been described as megaprojects. The motives of decision makers for undertaking megaprojects are summarized by Flyvbjergs (2012, 2014) “four sublimes,” which lack a temporal dimension. We utilize a case study of the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, applying the three levels of project management identified by Morris and Geraldi (2011), refined through Flyvbjergs four sublimes, to analyze the shifting nature of stakeholders’ motives. We evidence that Flyvbjergs sublimes are dynamic in response to change during the project timeline, creating new insights into project development and opportunities for research into historic projects.

Sustainability in social enterprise : hybrid organizing in public services

ABSTRACT It is commonly assumed that social enterprises (SEs) are able to meet social outcomes and also be financially viable; however, little research supports this claim. Using hybrid organizing as a lens to analyse case study interview data from ten SEs delivering adult day-care services, we identify three factors which affect an SE’s ability to simultaneously achieve social outcomes and financial sustainability and thus create value-spillovers for society. These are diverse income streams to strengthen financial viability and reduce reliance on service-level agreements and grants; delivering social quality (quality of social impact) as well as service quality, and a hybrid workforce.

The business of waste: Great Britain and Germany, 1945 to the present

radford, like stokes et al., manages to provide an intriguing text that covers a lot of ground. of the two books however, i found The Rise of the Public Authority to be a slightly ‘heavier’ read, although admittedly this may to some extent be explained by my being less familiar with the American context. it was though for this reason that i enjoyed radford’s book as much as i did that of stokes et al., providing as it does a detailed introduction for the outsider to many aspects of the us’s public sector history, which are entwined with the history of its public authorities. Public Authorities are quasi-public entities with their roots in the late nineteenth century and created in response to the limitations around law and finance that traditional public sector organisations faced, and the increasing demands of the growing urban cities, which needed to be met. initially, Public Authorities promised a brave new world in which municipal needs could be met more flexibly and more effectively by socially-oriented organisations with access to more finance and the ability to do business with the private sector that traditional public bodies could not. However, Public Authorities, which have mushroomed in number and variety over the years, appear to lack democratic accountability and to fragment the public sector in ways that do not always appear as beneficial to the public that they claim to serve. Paradoxically then, rather than strengthening the states’ ability to provide public services, Public Authorities have in many ways undermined them. Many of the points raised are almost identical to those raised by the critics of Quasi-Autonomous non-Governmental organisations (Quangos) here in Britain. Given the nebulous nature of the subject matter (Public Authorities can be involved in areas of public service ranging from car parking to economic development agencies), radford does an excellent job of covering so much ground. the appendix includes a useful snap-shot circa 1944 of Federal Corporate Agencies including details as to the names, purpose, and authorisation, and this demonstrates the heterogeneous nature of the ‘Public Authority’. overall, radford has written a detailed and critical analysis of a complex phenomenon that will be of interest to academics and students in fields such as History, Politics, Public Policy, Management, and Public Finance. the book should be timely, given the recent interest in hybrid organisations (i.e. organisations with financial as well as social objectives) and changes in the public/quasi-public sector that are happening around the world, including in the uK. The Rise of the Public Authority contributes to an understudied area of the history of organisations.

The rise of the public authority: statebuilding and economic development in twentieth-century America

climb to power. Some ‘financialisation’ move occurred then, influenced by Paribas, designating its representative as the chairman and Ceo. it is certainly the case that the Compagnie des compteurs became a magnificent force in its niche, even purchasing its competitor Serseg (from Lyon) in 1968. Despite its good balance sheet, its technological capital, its brand reputation, and its 22,000 employees, the firm became classically a prey, and Paribas favoured its aggregation in 1970 into the Schlumberger group, a specialist in hydrocarbons drilling and engineering, which was lured by this jewel that was so rich in engineers and patents, and which complemented its strategic metiers. The Compagnie des compteurs ended its autonomy by becoming part of Compteurs Schlumberger before disappearing within the group in 1987 as its measurement and systems division. The book itself ends with a mere summary as a conclusion, without handling key business history topics, without reflections about the competitive environment, the differentiation from less innovative firms, without a true study of commercial positions and commercial policies after world war ii, without data about market shares in France and europe. The nature and evolution of the management, and of company strategies, are more or less described in a simple narrative, without establishing bridges with the whole world of companies, employers, as if the Compagnie des compteurs had merely lived on some island in Montrouge and its offshoots. No strong conclusion really intermingles the stories in such a way as to apply them to business history issues. But, in spite of this disappointment, the author succeeds in organising an understanding of the stages the company went through, the strategies, the innovative moves, the role of engineers: the book will therefore contribute to a the provision of a better knowledge of such types of ‘boring’ industries, acting backstage to conceive and manufacture technical systems that support the daily life of utilities and industries. one spicy fact is that the large site in Montrouge has just been occupied by the headquarters of the second French bank, Crédit agricole, as a transition from industry to services; but the architects preserved some buildings there as a patrimonial testimony to the legacy of entrepreneurship.

The rise of marketing and market research

in Chapter 15). The story is concluded in 1917, on the eve of the challenge from road and air transport, when the United States entered World War I and the government heralded significant change by nationalising the railroads until 1920. The book is so long that one hardly dares to ask for more. Yet there are some weaknesses and omissions. Churella has intentionally excluded a discussion of several elements to be covered in Volume 2, notably passenger services, locomotive technology and labour policies. This means that only the first two of his highlighted grand themes – organisation, government regulation, technology and labour – are fully treated here. The balance between narrative and analysis has been tipped a little too much in favour of the former. Because the author eschews tables, aside from a messy presentation on pages 260–61, the omission serves to focus our attention on the lack of statistical material in the account, where an analysis of capital structure, rates, turnover, costs and profits would customarily be expected. Only sporadically do we learn of these matters (e.g. pp. 186, 199, 538–9, 622). There is no list of figures, and the discussion of network building would have been improved by a fewmoremaps. The issue of British precedents in railwaymanagement and organisation is ignored – was there really no knowledge transfer from Europe? This is important since, as the author notes, for many years there was a substantial British investment in the company – indeed, foreign investors ownedmore than half of the stock in 1890 (p. 541). Nevertheless, these criticisms aside, one can only marvel at the author’s magnificent achievement in providing such a confident, readable pathway through the complexities of a major business enterprise. With the help of some evocative photographs, he fully captures the raw pioneering effort of America’s railroad entrepreneurs.