Värderingar som styrmedel
en studie av Clas Ohlson ur ett nyinstitutionellt perspektiv
ValuesNeoinstitutional theoryDecouplingLegitimacy and IsomorphismVärderingarNyinstitutionell teoriLösa kopplingarLegitimitet och Isomorfism
Values, where an organization describes the attitude its members should have towards their work, are being used to a larger extent than before. The neoinstitutional theory describes organizations? attempts to create legitimacy through activities that are not really connected to their core activities. On the basis of the aforementioned theory this study examines to what extent employees and store managers at Clas Ohlson use and relate to the values of the organization in their everyday work. The study covers these individuals awareness of the impact of values in their work as well as the way they relate to values. The study is made using a qualitative approach, where a dozen semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees and store managers in Clas Ohlson stores in the Stockholm area. An observation was also conducted in one store to create a background understanding of how work was conducted. The analysis of the interviews was done with an ethnographic method, where the material was coded based on the theoretical stand. The result showed that the implementation of values is carried out in a less manifest way between employee and store manager than between top management and the store managers. The unclear implementation of values with employees results in that they, in their daily work, do not use the values in an active way. This generates the conclusion that the values need to be anchored actively and communicated clearly continuously throughout the organization in order to be meaningful for the daily work.