An Unexpected Struggle between Mutual Organizations : How Competition Undermines Alternatives

Abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. An Unexpected Struggle between Mutual Organizations : How Competition Undermines AlternativesBousalham, Youcef and Vidaillet, BénédicteBousalham, Youcef84408U. Paris-Est Créteil and Vidaillet, Bénédicte84408U. Paris-Est CréteilPublished Online:30 Nov 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2017.16643abstractAboutSections ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractRecent studies have shown that alternative organizations are particularly exposed to the risk of losing “their soul”, their “integrity"" or their capacity to put into practice their original ends. According to this studies, this form of perversion is largely due to the contamination alternative organizations suffer when they compete with capitalist companies. The case we are presenting here shows how the “alternative” ends of an organization may become perverted even when its sole competitor is also an alternative organization. This paper addresses this question using a case sometimes depicted as a “French exception” or a “French bizarreness”, in which two mutual insurance organizations compete exclusively with each other and propose the same products, at the same price, to the same target population, at the same time and same place. An important contribution of this study is to show in concrete terms how operating in a structural and direct competitive environment may lead alternative organizations to a dissociation between ends and means by leading them to: (1) adopt practices that are inconsistent with their founding purpose; (2) circumvent the practices that have been specifically designed to reach their alternative ends; (3) instrumentalize their alternative ends and turn them into means to cope with competition. Furthermore, the case shows how the dynamic of competition, because of its “captivating” nature, may prevent the actors from “denaturalizing” or questioning these inconsistent practices. This study has performative and political implications in that it suggest than rather than focusing on the (capitalist or non-capitalist) nature of the actors with whom they have to compete, any action aimed at promoting alternative organizations requires that policymakers reflect also on the competitive environment in which those organizations are placed and which can seriously undermine their emancipatory potential.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2017, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 30 November 2017 Published in print 1 August 2017 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsAlternative organizationsCompetitionMutualism