Keynote on Scandinavian Management
Swedish Management – still valid in the new digital era?
The Swedish model of leadership, typically characterized as non-hierarchical, team work, involvement, decentralized responsibilities, communicative and built on mutual trust, has emerged over the last three decades. It was primarily rooted in the strong internationally growing mechanical industry and had a large firm context, paired with what is often labelled the Swedish tradition of consensus. The model has been described as successful and is associated with the success of many Swedish firms’ global success.
Today however, we see a new generation of creative digital firms emerging, firms with value offerings and business models enabled by digital technology. There are reasons to believe that an alternative leadership model is evolving: a model that to some parts holds characteristics that are slightly different from the ‘classical’. In an interview study with CEOs we have raised the question: is there a new form of Swedish management, and if so, what characterizes it?