The sport of governance: a study comparing Swedish riding schools

Swedish riding schools can conduct their business in one of several organisational forms. Two possible forms are the private firm and the not-for-profit association. These organisational forms apply different strategies and structures. According to previous research, there should be a fit between organisations' strategies and structures, which would stimulate performance. This might be true for the large corporations for which the theories have been developed, but this paper shows that to apply the theories to other organisational forms, it is necessary to consider the incentives given to the participants. This study has been conducted using the theory of property rights, implying rights and liabilities for participants involved in the organisational forms. Hypotheses are derived and tested on empirical data collected from Swedish riding schools. Statistical tests indicate that there is not always a fit between strategy and structure. Regardless of whether business is conducted in a private or a non-profit riding school, the strategy is more or less the same, although the way of structuring the organisations differs.