The Sackrider Museum of Handbags “is a virtual online museum dedicated to collecting, interpreting, educating, preserving, and presenting a unique and diverse history of handbags to the public” (Sackrider Museum of Handbags 1). The Sackrider Museum’s organizational model is at its infancy and the institution is in the process of seeking funds that can be used to build a ‘physical space’ for the enterprise. Consequently, it is not immediately clear if the business will adopt a purely for-profit or a non-profit organizational model in the long run. However, currently the Museum has opted to use the ‘hybrid’ model of business. Through the hybrid model, Sackrider Museum of Handbags will act as both a for-profit and non-profit organization. Furthermore, the organization plans to source capital from both private investors and charitable organizations. This paper explores Sackrider Museum of Handbags’ hybrid business model including its advantages and disadvantages.
There is little to be said about the model of business that has been adopted by Sackrider Museum of Handbags at this point. According to the museum’s website, the decision to adopt the hybrid organizational model is informed by the institution’s current needs. First, the Sackrider Museum of Handbags is seeking to cater for the historical and educational needs. Therefore, it is hard to cater for these needs using the for-profit organizational model. According to Sackrider Museum of Handbags’ website, the organization seeks to provide “an educational and historical reference point about handbags to the public with regard to designers, their designs, their diverse material, style, functionality, the influence on society, general interest and entertainment” (Sackrider Museum of Handbags 1). Not all these functions can be catered for by an autonomous organizational model. For instance, the need to fulfill educational and historical functions cannot be addressed by a for-profit organizational model. On the other hand, the role of obtaining handbags from historical designers cannot be fulfilled by a non-profit organizational model.
Research indicates that the hybrid organizational model can be used to solve most of the challenges that are faced by conventional businesses. According to an article that appears on the “Harvard Business Review”, a hybrid organizational model allows “the for-profit entity to develop and focus its competencies to sell and distribute products… while the nonprofit is able to focus on broader issues through training, education, and monitoring” (Chen 1). In this case, the Sackrider Museum is seeking to propagate and uphold a tradition of preserving the evolution of handbags. However, the Museum has encountered several hurdles in the process of adopting its hybrid organizational model.
For example, the online museum has not been able to secure membership in the pace that was anticipated. Most prospective donors shy away from the hybrid organizational model because they fear that their donations might be used for profiteering purposes. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the survival of the Sackrider Museum has mainly depended on the for-profit side of the business, which is made possible by the hybrid organizational model. The Sackrider Museum of Handbags is a good example of a business that has adopted the hybrid organizational model to cater to its diverse needs. The future of hybrid organizations has been highlighted by an article that appeared on the New York Times that calls them trailblazers of social entrepreneurship (Chhabra 1).
Works Cited
Chen, Jane. “Should Your Business Should be Non-Profit or For-Profit?”. Harvard Business Review, 2013, Web.
Chhabra, Esha. “A Social Entrepreneur’s Quandary: Nonprofit or For-Profit?”. New York Times, 2013, Web.
Sackrider Museum of Handbags. “Mission Statement”. The Sack Org, 2011. Web.