Governance and Responsibility Issues in and By Meta-Organizations. the Case of FIFA.

Meta-organizations are increasingly portrayed as particularly suited to organizing collective action, addressing complex societal challenges, and serving as global problem solvers. However, they are also seen as paradoxical because member organizations often compete with the meta-organization for actorhood, decision-making power, and resources. This has two key implications: first, it can blur the lines of responsibility, making it difficult to determine which entity is accountable for specific actions within the meta-organization. Second, it influences how meta-organizations are governed and how governance structures are enforced.

We argue that governance is a central issue in meta-organizations, particularly in the context of global meta-organizations. By examining four core characteristics of meta-organizations – multi-referentiality, layers of social orders, dialectical actorhood, and multilevel decidedness – we explore how the dilution of responsibility arises and assess to what extent this dilution is an inherent feature of meta-organizations.

We analyze the case of FIFA, the global football association, along with its regional confederations and national football associations as members of the meta-organization. While FIFA has frequently faced societal criticism due to allegations of corruption and organizational misconduct, it simultaneously claims responsibility in the realms of societal justice, peace building, anti-racism and gender equality. Using a qualitative research methodology, our contributions are based on insights drawn from investigative interviews, organizational documents, and media reports.

Our research contributes to the study of meta-organizations in two key ways. First, we reveal how conflicting universalistic and particularistic expectations are managed and balanced through the intentional dilution of responsibility within the meta-organization. Second, we demonstrate that enforcing good governance presents a significant challenge for meta-organizations due to the competition for actorhood among members and the absence of a higher-level governance authority to enforce compliance.