SCANDINAVIAN MANAGEMENT - FROM COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE

The Scandinavian management model based on broad participation by workers and society needs to be revised if Scandinavian business is to meet the international competitive challenge. Participative management based on socio-technical notions has focused too much on internal variables rather than viewing the firm as market-dependent. Owners need to be brought back in to focus profitability, and business organizations have to develop close relationships with customers and suppliers to increase competitiveness. Scandinavian work organizations will continue to be flat and egalitarian, but they should also be market-oriented, flexible and learning. Organizational researchers need to critically examine the functioning of Scandinavian work organizations rather than argue from the ideological standpoint of the virtues of employee participation.