Toward Understanding Governance in Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Minnesota's Charter Schools

This paper presents results from a research study on charter school governance in Minnesota, the first state to enact charter school legislation in 1991. The paper examines the effects of the political and institutional environments on charter school governance, pays particular attention to how charter school boards navigate their legally mandated hybrid status, and analyzes the effects of hybridity on governance practices and school performance. The paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to our understanding of governance in strong institutional environments and the implications of hybridity for governance practices.