Control models and strategic control in the Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Armed Forces are undergoing extensive changes in their management and organizational structure in order to better respond to ever-increasing demands for growth and capability development.

Photo: The Swedish Armed Forces

About the project

A decentralized control system, which the Armed Forces currently uses, enables operational decision-making and adaptation to local changes and needs. At the same time, there is a risk that operational activities are not in line with strategic objectives and that overall goals are not met. This study examines the decentralized control system in a time of rapid growth and, in particular, how the monitoring of operations is organized to ensure that overall objectives are met.

The study draws on research on control frameworks and systems in transition, and experiences of decentralized control systems from both the public sector and the business community. Particular attention is paid to how control systems can be mobilized to enable adaptation and adjustment in response to frequently changing circumstances in a complex setting, while simultaneously serving as a frame that enables decentralized actions and decisions to remain oriented towards overarching organizational objectives.

This dual function of control systems gives rise to several tensions that call for careful managing: the need to balance decentralized autonomy with strategic coherence; the challenge of reconciling short-term responsiveness with long-term orientation; and the interplay between formal control mechanisms and the situated interpretations and judgments through which these mechanisms are enacted in practice.

Research team