Kommun- och regionstyrelseordföranden som nav i ett styrningslandskap format av arenakonkurrens

Abstract

Stability and change in the CMB and CRB roles. Towards a similar interactive practice?

The municipalities and regions make up a large part of Sweden’s public sector, but there is little research on how the role their primary political leaders play as well as the leadership they exercise within these organizations. This study is based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with 13 chairmen of municipal (CMB) and regional (CRB) boards.

The study shows that both CMB and CRB spend a lot of time in informal meetings within the intraorganizational arena. These meetings aim to assemble different interests and knowledge among relevant political and administrative actors within the municipal and regional organizations in order to identify a common policy. The CMB and CRB therefore primarily exercise an interactive form of political leadership within their organizations. The Swedish municipalities and regions have a vastly different historical backgrounds, but this study indicate that the political steering nowadays is rather similar.