Institutional Pressure and Failure Dynamics in the Swedish Voucher School Sector

Authors

  • Abiel Sebhatu Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and Organization & Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum
  • Karl Wennberg Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS), Linköping University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v21i3.11566

Keywords:

Education, Institutional pressure, Organisational response, Structure, Growth and decline

Abstract

We conducted a comparative case study following the growth and decline of the two largest private school organisations in Sweden from the voucher school deregulation in 1992 until the bankruptcy of one of the organisations in 2013. Using archival data, hand-coded data relating to media exposure, interviews with managers and company press releases, we have explored institutional pressure and responses of school organisations to institutional conformity and resistance. Both of the organisations studied constitute private equity managed business groups, but rely on distinct growth strategies and different types of political and market-based ties to powerful stakeholders. Our results explain how organisational responses to institutional pressure are intimately linked to organisational structure, and furthermore how conformity may not translate into conditions which enhance survival as has been previously theorised.

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Author Biographies

Abiel Sebhatu, Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and Organization & Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum

Abiel Sebhatu is a senior PhD candidate at the Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and Organization, and the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum. His research focuses on organizations, institutional change, and entrepreneurship.

Karl Wennberg, Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS), Linköping University

Karl Wennberg is a professor of management at the Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and Organization, and deputy director of the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) at Linköping University. His research focuses on entrepreneurship, organizational sociology, and reg- ional science.

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Published

2017-09-15

How to Cite

Sebhatu, A., & Wennberg, K. (2017). Institutional Pressure and Failure Dynamics in the Swedish Voucher School Sector. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 21(3), 109–136. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v21i3.11566

Issue

Section

Original Articles

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