Chefslösa företag i praktiken. Beslutsprocesser utifrån struktur, kultur och politik

Abstract

This study examines how leaderless organizations might function. It has previously been discussed whether they are effective or not. The aim of the study is to describe and increase the understanding of the complex phenomenon how leaderless organizations work, focusing on decision making processes, from the perspectives of structure, culture and politics. Data has been collected from qualitative interviews, with six respondents from three organizations, which resulted in 18 respondents in total. In the presentation of the empirical data we have described three decision making processes: individual decisions, group decisions and corporate decisions. Furthermore, four roles within the organizations have been identified and described, they are as follows: the employee, the supporting role, the senior employee and the partner. The results show how leaderless organizations have compensated for the lack of managers, by incorporating the manager functions into other roles or delegated them to groups. Results also show how structure and culture are created to enable the lack of managers. Furthermore, the study shows how power is distributed to the different roles, which affect the extent of their influence in the decision making processes. In conclusion, the leaderless organizations are, in fact, not always leaderless. The findings may be used for further studies regarding other aspects of leaderless organizational life, such as leadership or organizational efficiency. We also propose further examination of power distribution or the consequences of decision making.