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The purpose of this thesis is to reach a deeper understanding of how boundary spanners are bridging boundaries between uniformed bureaucratic organisations and their environment, characterised by demanding conditions. The main part of this thesis is based upon empirical data gathered through 71 interviews with Swedish civil and military informants from several uniformed organisations. Four articles have been included in this thesis in order to address the overarching aim. The results show that boundary spanners are crucial to the adaption of uniformed organisations to demanding conditions. A number of aspects that are included in the process of organisational adaption have been identified. One of the tasks is to balance between structuring and improvisation where much is at stake. The other task is to create confidence among the involved actors and contribute in different ways to create a sense of symmetry between partners. Finally, the third task for boundary spanners is to recognise improvised roles such as spontaneous links in order to maintain stressful conditions and bridge a gap in the bureaucratic organisation. The present thesis contributes to sociological theory of emotions, disaster management and military studies through a common denominator, namely the demanding context. Taken together, the findings increase awareness of how organisations act towards their environments and how individuals, especially boundary spanners, adapt the organisation to its environment. For leaders and managers, it is important to make decisions, provide mandates and authorisation, as well as invest confidence in boundary spanners. The hierarchical chain may remain in existence, but it can be made shorter and more transparent through this kind of knowledge. ; BAKSIDESTEXT: Organisational adaption to the environment is a complex area of research, necessitating enquiry into how such adaption may take place. The purpose of this thesis is to reach a deeper understanding of how boundary spanners are bridging boundaries between uniformed bureaucratic organisations and their environment, characterised by demanding conditions such as disasters and war. The main body of the thesis is based upon interviews with Swedish civil and military informants. The results show that boundary spanners are crucial to the adaption of uniformed organisations to demanding conditions. Their tasks involve balancing between structuring and improvisation, creating confidence among the involved actors and recognising improvised roles such as spontaneous links in order to maintain stressful conditions and bridge a gap in the bureaucratic organisation. Taken together, the findings increase awareness of how organisations act towards their environments and how individuals, especially boundary spanners, adapt the organisation to its environment. For leaders and managers, it is important to make decisions, provide mandates and authorisation, as well as invest confidence in boundary spanners. The hierarchical chain may remain in existence, but it can be made shorter and more transparent through this kind of knowledge. The present thesis contributes to sociological theory of emotions, disaster management and military studies through a common denominator, namely the demanding context.

AbstractFollowing the Cold War, Sweden adopted a doctrine promoting perpetual peace, resulting in significant reductions in military defense capabilities and the dismantling of civil defense infrastructure. However, geopolitical events such as the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted Sweden to reassess its security posture in 2015, leading to the reconstruction of total defense, and an emphasis on collaboration between the civilian and military defense sectors. Exercises have been instrumental in fostering civil‐military collaboration capability. This study aims to investigate whether these exercises are effective in enhancing capability for civil‐military collaboration. Data collection involved participant observation during seven exercises and was analyzed using constructive alignment (CA). Findings indicate that the exercises did not yield discernible learning outcomes, and this is attributed to the Swedish principles of responsibility, deficiencies in CA, contextual support, and entrenched defensive routines.

Purpose
Previous studies show that the implementation of gender equality encounters resistance in military organizations, but it is often invisible or seen as confined to anonymous structures or troubled individuals. This paper aims to show how the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) use organizational principles to resist implementing gender equality measures.


Design/methodology/approach
The study is a qualitative analysis of discursive strategies in the SAF's 2013–2018 annual reports to government.


Findings
The organizing principles of instrumentality and distance, while existing in parallel with gender equality efforts, actually pursue logics that prevents the SAF from implementing gender equality. The principle of instrumentality in this context means that gender equality in the SAF is of secondary interest to organizational members. The principle of distancing from the problem includes strategies that alienate female from male officers.


Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is the finding that the use of organizing principles represents conscious organizational resistance to gender equality efforts. This kind of use needs to be revealed and criticized to change military organizations.

Kriget i Ukraina har redan fått många återverkningar, även i samhällen som inte direkt skakas av de fruktansvärda krigshandlingarna. I traditionella och sociala medier funderar människor kring vad som skulle hända om det blev krig i Sverige och hur detta skulle påverka vår vardag och våra relationer. En ofta förbisedd fråga i detta sammanhang är relationen mellan människor och djur. I denna artikel diskuteras hur totalförsvaret som samhällsorganisation och verksamhet kan utmanas av 2020-talets normer om förhållandet mellan människor och djur och djurs status som säkerhetssubjekt. Mot bakgrund av den traditionella totalförsvarstanken presenterar vi ett antal områden där djurens relationer med människor kan tänkas väcka frågor och komma i konflikt med delar av totalförsvaret: synen på säkerhet, juridiken i kris och krig samt utvecklingen av den sociala relationen mellan människor och djur. Artikeln avslutas med tankar kring hur ett totalförsvar som inkluderar djur skulle kunna se ut samt kring hur dagens totalförsvar i så fall skulle behöva förändras.

Outcomes of leadership are traditionally attributed to the leader's individual characteristics and leadership style. One aspect that has been less visible in leadership models is how the decision-making process affects perception of leadership quality. Another aspect that probably exerts an impact is the difficulty level of the decisions, how they affect subordinates and the organization. The purpose of this study is to obtain a deeper understanding of decision challenges in relation to the strategic leadership level. Data were collected through qualitative, semi-structured interviews. In total, nineteen leaders at strategic organizational level were included who all possessed previous experience of decision-making within national and international staff work. The interviews were analysed according to a thematic analysis. Several decision-making challenges were described in the interviews. The study supports the conclusion that the objective, and especially the subjective, outcome of leadership is dependent on decision difficulty. ; Les effets que produit l'exercice de l'autorité sont traditionnellement attribués aux caractéristiques individuelles du chef et au style qui est le sien en la matière. Un aspect moins visible des modèles existants de leadership est la manière dont le processus de prise de décision affecte la perception de la qualité du leadership. Un autre, susceptible de l'influencer, réside dans le niveau de difficulté de la décision à prendre, et la façon dont elle affecte les subordonnés et l'organisation. Le but de cette étude est d'obtenir une meilleure compréhension des défis décisionnels posés au leadership de niveau stratégique. Les données utilisées ont été recueillies au moyen d'entretiens qualitatifs semi-directifs avec un total de 19 responsables de niveau stratégique possédant une expérience passée de prise de décision au sein d'états-majors nationaux et internationaux. Ces entretiens ont été analysés par thèmes. Ils décrivent plusieurs types de défis décisionnels. L'étude confirme la conclusion que les effets objectifs et surtout subjectifs du leadership dépendent de la difficulté de la décision à formuler.

Numerous societal change processes such as globalization, professionalization and social and technical acceleration have challenged military organizations. The aims of this study were to (1) gain a deeper understanding of coping strategies used by the military leaders at the strategic level to manage everyday organizational demands and (2) relate these strategies to multidisciplinary models of organizational challenges. Owing to an insufficiently developed base of research, an inductive approach was used. Interviews were performed with 23 Swedish brigadier generals and colonels. Five coping strategies were found for handling the negative organizational aspects: repair work, catching up, reproducing, using formal and informal strategies and managing loyalties. The theoretical concepts of narcissistic, anorectic and greedy organizations were used as a framework when interpreting the inductively generated coping strategies. It was suggested that the specific connection found between individual-level coping strategies and theoretically framed organizational challenges is new. The results of this study are discussed theoretically and may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the working conditions and performance of high-level officers.

Purpose The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of what leadership skills are important for leaders in gaining adaptability in a hierarchical organization along with antecedent factors that influence the potential development of these skill sets. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted by interviewing fifteen high-level military officers (Brigadiers and Colonels). Data were analyzed according to the grounded theory method and a theoretical model was generated. Findings A core variable was identified in the data analysis, the leader's use of organizational smooth power, using structural, emotional and relational smoothness, to gain organizational adaptability. The leader's professional background, experience and the organizational environment characteristics respectively interact as antecedent variables shaping the leader's contextual appraisal in order to implement smooth power. Further research suggestions are pointed out and practical and ethical implications are included. Research limitations/implications The study was completed in a specific context, a higher-level military staff, which makes it context specific. We hypothesize that similar behaviors may be found in other organizations but further research should be conducted to test this. The sample size is relatively small due to the chosen qualitative research method. Practical implications Practical considerations should be given to ethical and moral reflection within leadership training for ongoing use in leadership praxis, such as implementation and ongoing reflection of ethical leadership (Treviño et al., 2000; Treviño et al., 2003). Other practical impacts of this research may be for selection and retention efforts of high-level military staff workers. The model may also be useful for education purposes in order to increase awareness and abilities of smooth power concepts in an attempt to increase adaptability in military leadership. It may increase their awareness of skills rendered as necessary for collaborative efforts in multinational staff environments. Originality/value The research contribution is the detailed descriptions of the ways high-level leaders use organizational smooth power in order gain organizational adaptability.

Numerous societal change processes such as globalization, professionalization and social and technical acceleration have challenged military organizations. The aims of this study were to (1) gain a deeper understanding of coping strategies used by the military leaders at the strategic level to manage everyday organizational demands and (2) relate these strategies to multidisciplinary models of organizational challenges. Owing to an insufficiently developed base of research, an inductive approach was used. Interviews were performed with 23 Swedish brigadier generals and colonels. Five coping strategies were found for handling the negative organizational aspects: repair work, catching up, reproducing, using formal and informal strategies and managing loyalties. The theoretical concepts of narcissistic, anorectic and greedy organizations were used as a framework when interpreting the inductively generated coping strategies. It was suggested that the specific connection found between individual-level coping strategies and theoretically framed organizational challenges is new. The results of this study are discussed theoretically and may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the working conditions and performance of high-level officers.

Lately, scholars have been engaging in studies on the crossroads between collaborative public management and crisis management, but our knowledge on how organizations work together with interorganizational goals in times of crisis or in relation to the threat that crises pose, is still limited. This study aims to illuminate how interagency horizontal collaboration plays out in practice. An interview study with twenty‐three Swedish duty officers in three organizations with critical tasks in the institutional crisis management system is carried out to unearth impediments to interagency collaboration that emerge when organizations from different policy subsystems engage in crisis collaboration. Empirically, the study contributes with new knowledge on how a crucial function in crisis management carries out work and deals with challenges. Theoretically, it contributes to the literature on crisis management collaboration by shedding light on processes of horizontal collaboration in the area of crisis management.

Abstract
Numerous societal change processes such as globalization, professionalization and social and technical acceleration have challenged military organizations. The aims of this study were to (1) gain a deeper understanding of coping strategies used by the military leaders at the strategic level to manage everyday organizational demands and (2) relate these strategies to multidisciplinary models of organizational challenges. Owing to an insufficiently developed base of research, an inductive approach was used. Interviews were performed with 23 Swedish brigadier generals and colonels. Five coping strategies were found for handling the negative organizational aspects: repair work, catching up, reproducing, using formal and informal strategies and managing loyalties. The theoretical concepts of narcissistic, anorectic and greedy organizations were used as a framework when interpreting the inductively generated coping strategies. It was suggested that the specific connection found between individual-level coping strategies and theoretically framed organizational challenges is new. The results of this study are discussed theoretically and may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the working conditions and performance of high-level officers.