In addition to the traditional economic analysis that holds that economic activity takes place within two spheres, namely the public and the private sectors, this paper deals with a third sphere. This comprises the institutions of civil society that aim to make a profit, those which deal with the production and distribution of goods and services and with citizens as producers and consumers, but that nonetheless aim to serve society and the public good exclusively. This study looks at the relationship between these three spheres from two angles. This first is “normative” (that which should be) and the second is positive (application in the real world) and tries to establish some rules to define the required role of each of the three spheres of economic performance. It is suggested that the link between the nature of ownership of economic installations and the performance levels of these installations as an important factor for indicating the efficiency of the management of these installations be reconsidered.