Ambidextrous sustainability, organisational structure and performance in hybrid organisations

PurposeDrawing on paradox theory, this study explores how ambidextrous sustainability relates to organisational performance in hybrid organisations represented by Swedish municipal housing corporations, and how this relationship is contingent on the organisational structure of these organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on the data collected from Swedish municipal housing corporations. These data sources consist of a survey sent to the management team members in Swedish municipal housing corporations, financial and non-financial archival data on these corporations, interviews with the management team and board members, and observations of meetings involving the management team and board of directors at a Swedish municipal housing corporation. Quantitative data of the study were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and linear multiple regression analysis. Qualitative data were analysed employing deductive thematic analysis and were used to illustrate and discuss the results of the quantitative analysis.FindingsThe quantitative findings show that ambidextrous sustainability, i.e. the alignment between an explorative orientation and an exploitative orientation towards sustainability, has a weakly positive relationship with financial performance and a positive relationship with social performance in hybrid organisations represented by Swedish municipal housing corporations. The study further shows that a high level of the structural element “connectedness” weakened the relationship between the ambidextrous sustainability and financial performance of the organisation in the study. In contrast, a lower level of connectedness reinforced and strengthened this relationship. Our qualitative material illustrates how the quantitative findings could be explained by the interaction between the board of directors and the management team of these hybrid organisations.Originality/valueThe study shows how ambidextrous sustainability, employed for conceptualisation of the sustainability strategy in hybrid organisations, represented by Swedish municipal housing corporations, can impact on facets of performance (i.e. financial, social and environmental) differently. The study further highlights the importance of organisational structures in these relationships in a hybrid context.

The Transition of Dutch Social Housing Corporations to Sustainable Business Models for New Buildings and Retrofits

Social housing corporations play an important role in society as they provide affordable and good-quality housing for vulnerable citizens. Yet, the sector has to deal with the historical legacy of a high number of old and poorly insulated buildings. While research into the processes that drive or hinder business model innovation in this sector is scarce, this paper draws upon multiple qualitative case studies of social housing in the Netherlands to identify critical success factors for the transition to sustainable business models for new buildings and retrofits. Results show that there are four key attributes for a successful transition process: collaboration (both with supply chain partners as well as other social housing associations); continuous innovation; vision; and the role of the government (including subsidies and fiscal regulations). While economic performance was an important boundary condition, sustainability was not always seen as a strategic organizational objective, a finding that might be explained through considering the legacy of social housing corporations. Furthermore, a number of barriers were identified including the need for customer acceptance, a lack of support from the construction sector and government and macroeconomic factors such as increased construction costs.

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Self-Service Technology (SST) in the Public Sector

In the Netherlands, housing corporations are increasingly adopting self-service technologies (SSTs) to support affairs their tenants need to arrange. The purpose of the study is to examine the customers' motivations of using SSTs in the context of the Dutch public housing sector. An empirical investigation is presented based on a sample of 1,209 tenants. Using partial least squares (PLS), the acceptance model of Blut, Wang, and Schoefer is adopted and tested. The results show that especially the need for interaction negatively influence the adoption of SSTs by tenants. Positively, subjective norm and self-efficacy influence the adoption. Furthermore, playfulness negatively influences this adoption. Developers of SSTs should focus on its ulitalitarian function, rather then invest in its playfulness. Moreover, adoption is propelled by the encouragement of others. This can be enhanced by positive word-ofmouth and should therefore stimulated.

Towards the evaluation of a thermal compartmentation renovation concept through in-situ measurements

Facing the energy transition, Dutch social housing corporations are expected to fulfil a pioneering role in realising fossil fuel free and CO2 neutral dwellings and neighbourhoods. However, given the high current costs of retrofitting dwellings to net zero energy, housing corporations are searching diligently for alternative, more affordable, renovation strategies. A Thermal Compartmentation renovation concept has been developed, in which retrofitting efforts are concentrated on the living spaces in dwellings. By means of co-heating tests, the quality of the thermal shell of three retrofitted case objects has been evaluated. It is found that both the airtightness and the heat loss coefficient (HLC) improved significantly as a result of the renovation. As would be expected, the realised ‘warm compartments’ show a better thermal performance than the entire dwellings. Although the measurements and subsequent analyses have confirmed the impact of the renovation measures on the buildings’ thermal performance, additional research targeting the inhabited dwellings is necessary to draw up final conclusions on the potential of the Thermal Compartmentation renovation concept.