TemaNord 2015:525 TemaNord TemaNord 2015:525 TemaNord Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 Copenhagen K www.norden.org Good Nordic management practices State of the art Good Nordic management practices The project identified good Nordic management practices by analysing Nordic research on management, working conditions, and productivity. The project identified 2760 publications combining these topics and analysed in detail 38 core publications combining all three topics. The main findings were: 1. Nordic research that combine all three topics is limited in extend but broad in content and therefore fragmented. Values related to cooperation and participation permeated the publications, which sets them apart from EU and US publications. 2. The core publications identified positive relations between management practices, working conditions and workplace performance. 3. Positive management practices are characterised by dialogue and cooperation between managers and subordinates. The research was conducted in 2012-2014 at Aalborg University, SINTEF, VTT, and Karlstad University. TemaNord 2015:525 ISBN 978-92-893-4043-4 (PRINT) ISBN 978-92-893-4065-6 (PDF) ISBN 978-92-893-4064-9 (EPUB) ISSN 0908-6692 TN2015525 omslag.indd 1 23-04-2015 07:37:09 Good Nordic management practices State of the art Hans Yngvar Torvatn, Ole H. Sørensen, Heli Talja and Birgitta Eriksen TemaNord 2015:525 Good Nordic management practices State of the art Hans Yngvar Torvatn, Ole H. Sørensen, Heli Talja and Birgitta Eriksen ISBN 978-92-893-4043-4 (PRINT) ISBN 978-92-893-4065-6 (PDF) ISBN 978-92-893-4064-9 (EPUB) http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/TN2015-525 TemaNord 2015:525 ISSN 0908-6692 © Nordic Council of Ministers 2015 Layout: Hanne Lebech Cover photo: ImageSelect Print: Rosendahls-Schultz Grafisk Printed in Denmark This publication has been published with financial support by the Nordic Council of Ministers. However, the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or recom- mendations of the Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/en/publications Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involv- ing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an im- portant role in European and international collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community. Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive. Nordic Council of Ministers Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 Copenhagen K Phone (+45) 3396 0200 www.norden.org Content 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 The task from the Nordic Council of Ministries ....................................................... 7 1.2 Earlier overviews ................................................................................................................. 7 1.3 A quick note on Iceland and Greenland ...................................................................... 8 1.4 References ............................................................................................................................... 9 2. Methods ................................................................................................................................................11 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................11 2.2 Carrying out the searches ...............................................................................................14 2.3 From gross to net to core ................................................................................................19 3. Pan-Nordic view on leadership and management research: Meta-analysis ........... 21 3.1 Goals .........................................................................................................................................21 3.2 Description and methods ................................................................................................22 3.3 Results .....................................................................................................................................25 3.4 Nordic country comparisons .........................................................................................35 3.5 Comparison of Nordic countries with EU and USA ..............................................38 3.6 Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................46 4. Denmark – National findings .......................................................................................................49 4.1 Industrial Relations and Business Demography ...................................................49 4.2 Themes and industries .....................................................................................................51 4.3 Productivity and working conditions ........................................................................52 4.4 Managerial advice...............................................................................................................61 4.5 References .............................................................................................................................64 5. Finland – National findings ..........................................................................................................67 5.1 Features of Finnish working life...................................................................................67 5.2 Identification of the core articles – Finland .............................................................69 5.3 Analysis of the core articles ...........................................................................................71 5.4 Central themes .....................................................................................................................72 5.5 Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................79 5.6 References .............................................................................................................................81 6. Norway – National findings .........................................................................................................83 6.1 Key features of Norwegian work life ..........................................................................83 6.2 The Norwegian search ......................................................................................................86 6.3 The overall publication pattern in Norway .............................................................87 6.4 What can we learn from the 12 core publications? ..............................................91 6.5 Supporting and grey literature .....................................................................................98 6.6 References .......................................................................................................................... 100 7. Sweden – National findings ....................................................................................................... 103 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 103 7.2 The Swedish labour market and industrial relations ....................................... 104 7.3 Search methods ................................................................................................................ 106 7.4 Results .................................................................................................................................. 111 7.5 Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 119 7.6 References .......................................................................................................................... 125 8. Findings, Discussions and Implications ...............................................................................129 8.1 Main findings .....................................................................................................................129 8.2 Research on management, working life and productivity is fragmented .........................................................................................................................130 8.3 Characteristics of positive management practices ............................................138 8.4 What is not there? ............................................................................................................140 8.5 Implications ........................................................................................................................141 8.6 References ...........................................................................................................................143 God nordisk ledelsespraksis- sammendrag på norsk ............................................................145 Appendix A: Search string .................................................................................................................147