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Publications (10 of 59) Show all publications
Hällgren, M., Rantatalo, O. & Lindberg, O. (2025). At the interface of extreme contexts and strategy as practice (3ed.). In: Damon Golsorkhi; Linda Rouleau; David Seidl; Eero Vaara (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of strategy as practice: (pp. 773-788). Cambridge University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>At the interface of extreme contexts and strategy as practice
2025 (English)In: Cambridge handbook of strategy as practice / [ed] Damon Golsorkhi; Linda Rouleau; David Seidl; Eero Vaara, Cambridge University Press, 2025, 3, p. 773-788Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Markus Hällgren, Oscar Rantatalo and Ola Lindberg examine the interface between research on extreme contexts and strategy as practice research. The authors argue that combining these two bodies of literature can help management and organization researchers to develop more impactful research. They start by discussing what an extreme context is, followed by an overview of how strategizing plays out in risky, emergency, disruptive and surprising contexts. Then, the authors provide an empirical vignette from their own research as an example of strategy work in a risky setting. This example uses incident command organizing to perform strategic work during extreme situations. The case study illustrates how strategic change entails a dynamic and political process during which actors within the same practice may act with different objectives. While the authors show that excellent work has already been done at the interface of extreme contexts and strategy as practice research, they suggest future research avenues that would allow reinforcing the bridges between these two areas of research.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge University Press, 2025 Edition: 3
Keywords
strategy as practice, practice approach, extreme contexts, risk, emergency
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-237405 (URN)10.1017/9781009216067.045 (DOI)9781009216067 (ISBN)9781009216074 (ISBN)
Available from: 2025-04-08 Created: 2025-04-08 Last updated: 2025-04-10Bibliographically approved
Rantatalo, O., Lindberg, O., Lindholm, A. & Lundmark, R. (2025). Co-creation to increase cross-functional collaboration in police investigations of online child sexual abuse: a qualitative study protocol. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 1-7
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Co-creation to increase cross-functional collaboration in police investigations of online child sexual abuse: a qualitative study protocol
2025 (English)In: International Journal of Qualitative Methods, E-ISSN 1609-4069, Vol. 24, p. 1-7Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This qualitative study protocol outlines a co-creation project between researchers and the Swedish police to improve cross-functional collaboration in online child sexual abuse (CSA) investigations. Online CSA cases are complex and require extensive collaboration between prosecutors, IT forensic expertise, and investigators with expertise in child sexual offenses. Despite the recognized need for cross-functional teamwork, research evaluating methods for such collaboration in crime investigations, especially in online CSA, is scarce. This project, funded by the Swedish research agency FORTE (2023-00085), addresses this gap by employing the ‘double diamond’ co-creation framework (discovery, define, develop, deliver) to co-create, implement, and evaluate a team-based intervention within three online CSA units in northern Sweden. Data collection will involve semi-structured interviews (n ≈ 35), participant observations of workshops, workshop appraisals, document analysis, and analysis of organizational metrics. The project aims to: (1) identify challenges and potentials for cross-functional teamwork in online CSA investigations; (2) co-design a team-based intervention to address identified needs; and (3) evaluate the intervention’s impact on efficiency and organizational outcomes. By working collaboratively with police practitioners throughout the research process, this project aims to generate practical and sustainable solutions to enhance the effectiveness of online CSA investigations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2025
Keywords
police investigation, criminal investigation, online child sexual abuse, study protocol, intervention research, collaboration
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-237504 (URN)10.1177/16094069251333592 (DOI)001467248100001 ()2-s2.0-105002708526 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2023-00085
Available from: 2025-04-14 Created: 2025-04-14 Last updated: 2025-05-05Bibliographically approved
Liljeholm, M., Stjerna Doohan, I., Rantatalo, O. & Lindberg, O. (2025). Emotional management in professional education: a practice architecture analysis of emotionally challenging simulations. Studies in Continuing Education
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Emotional management in professional education: a practice architecture analysis of emotionally challenging simulations
2025 (English)In: Studies in Continuing Education, ISSN 0158-037X, E-ISSN 1470-126XArticle in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

This study explores the role of emotional management in professional education, specifically within the context of police death notification training in Sweden. Utilising the theory of practice architectures, the research examines how police students navigate emotionally charged situations during scenario-based simulations. Findings are based on observations of death notification training and semi-structured interviews with police students. The results reveal that the absence of clear protocols, combined with the emotionally intense nature of death notifications, presents significant challenges for students. This necessitates a balance between professional detachment and empathetic engagement. The findings highlight the dual practices of engagement and distancing that students employ to manage their own emotions as well as those of the bereaved next of kin. The research underscores the importance of incorporating emotionally demanding simulations in professional training to enhance emotional resilience and reflective practice among future police officers. This study contributes to the understanding of emotional management in professional education and offers insights into integrating emotional awareness into practice-oriented training frameworks.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2025
Keywords
Professional education, simulation, theory of practice architectures, practice theory, police training
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-239238 (URN)10.1080/0158037x.2025.2507596 (DOI)001493892600001 ()2-s2.0-105005869636 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2025-05-26 Created: 2025-05-26 Last updated: 2025-06-02
Lindberg, O., Rantatalo, O. & Hällgren, M. (2025). Learning in a state of inadequacy: simulations of extreme events as preparation for crisis. Vocations and Learning, 18(1), Article ID 13.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Learning in a state of inadequacy: simulations of extreme events as preparation for crisis
2025 (English)In: Vocations and Learning, ISSN 1874-785X, E-ISSN 1874-7868, Vol. 18, no 1, article id 13Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article investigates how participants in simulations of extreme events handle inadequacy, contributing to the discussion on workplace learning in high-pressure and unpredictable scenarios. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted across five simulations in three organizations (military, police, and county administrative board), involving 288 h of observations, ethnographic interviews, and 18 semi-structured interviews. The analysis focused on identifying episodes where participants encountered inadequacy, exploring how they recognized, attributed, and addressed it. Our findings reveal that inadequacy disrupts routine practices but also fosters opportunities for learning and innovation. Key conditions for effectively handling inadequacy include the voicing of inadequacy, which requires psychologically safe environments, and proactive responses such as improvisation or acceptance under urgency. Additionally, simulations, while controlled and artificial, effectively expose inadequacies, revealing gaps in preparedness that can inform future crisis responses. This article contributes to professional learning by highlighting inadequacy as a critical factor in both individual and collective learning, offering insights into how simulations can be designed to enhance preparedness for unpredictable, high-stakes events.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2025
Keywords
Inadequacy, Simulation, Professional learning, Practice theory, Extreme contexts
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-237468 (URN)10.1007/s12186-025-09369-2 (DOI)001463549100001 ()2-s2.0-105003385461 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2025-04-10 Created: 2025-04-10 Last updated: 2025-05-26Bibliographically approved
Irehill, H., Rantatalo, O., Lundmark, R. & Tafvelin, S. (2025). Nonprototypical managers: the identity work of young managers in relation to age-based stereotypes. European Management Journal
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Nonprototypical managers: the identity work of young managers in relation to age-based stereotypes
2025 (English)In: European Management Journal, ISSN 0263-2373, E-ISSN 1873-5681Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

To be a young manager is to deviate from the norm, because youth and management are perceived as contradictory social positions. Thus, young managers are positioned as nonprototypical, which poses challenges to gaining acceptance and claiming the managerial identity. In this multicase interview study, we show how available social prototypes of management and self-to-prototype comparisons are important as young managers approach the identity work process. We conducted interviews (N = 38) and workshops (N = 6) in three businesssectors with young and senior managers, subordinates, and those performing support functions. Based on an analysis of these interviews and workshops, we developed a theoretical model illustrating how young managers use implicit theories of leadership (ILT) to reduce the incongruity between internal self-conceptions and external prototypes of management as a benchmark toward managerial identity, revealing three main approaches to identity work. Young managers approach age-based drawbacks by acting based on noncontextualized ILTs, making adjustments in relation to available prototypes, and by making self-to-prototype insights. Our findings augment the identity work theory by providing an age perspective on this process and highlight the importance of future research engaging in depth with age as a sociodemographic factor in relation to the managerial role.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2025
Keywords
Young managers, Identity work, Implicit leadership, Leadership, Management
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231923 (URN)10.1016/j.emj.2024.12.001 (DOI)2-s2.0-85212328661 (Scopus ID)
Funder
AFA Insurance
Available from: 2024-11-18 Created: 2024-11-18 Last updated: 2025-01-14
Poikela, C., Lindberg, O., Haake, U., Rantatalo, O. & Lindholm, A. (2025). Participation and power in the civilianized police: how feminine and professional symbols challenge the masculine police community. Vocations and Learning, 18, Article ID 9.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Participation and power in the civilianized police: how feminine and professional symbols challenge the masculine police community
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2025 (English)In: Vocations and Learning, ISSN 1874-785X, E-ISSN 1874-7868, Vol. 18, article id 9Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this study, we examine the conditions for participation in criminal investigation practices among two professional categories: police officers and civilians. Specifically, we analyse how participation is shaped and conditioned through the use of symbols and symbolic actions in relation to doing gender and professional identity. The Swedish police have addressed staffing shortages by hiring civilians, predominantly graduate women, as criminal investigators. We interviewed 71 civilians and police officers, focusing on their perspectives on the nature of investigative work, civilian integration, and the distinctions between the two professional groups. Additionally, the data includes 11 days of ethnographic observations at five different investigative units. Using reflexive thematic analysis and a sociomaterial perspective, we constructed four ideal types of participation – defensive civilian, hybrid police, hybrid civilian and defensive police. We argue that these ideal types of participation are positioned in relation to orientations of doing gender and professional identity, and furthermore associated with different categories of symbols and symbolic actions. Our study enhances our understanding of relational power in workplace learning, particularly social ordering through legitimacy and status.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2025
Keywords
Participation, Doing gender, Sociomateriality, Symbolism, Power, Profession, Police
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-236077 (URN)10.1007/s12186-025-09365-6 (DOI)001436236600001 ()2-s2.0-86000038871 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2020–00344
Available from: 2025-03-03 Created: 2025-03-03 Last updated: 2025-03-27Bibliographically approved
Liljeholm Bång, M., Lindberg, O., Rantatalo, O. & Lilliehorn, S. (2025). The mismatch between teaching and assessing professionalism: a practice architecture analysis of three professional programmes. Studies in Continuing Education, 47(1), 228-247
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The mismatch between teaching and assessing professionalism: a practice architecture analysis of three professional programmes
2025 (English)In: Studies in Continuing Education, ISSN 0158-037X, E-ISSN 1470-126X, Vol. 47, no 1, p. 228-247Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

While there is broad agreement about their importance, courses in professionalism have proven difficult to teach and assess. Furthermore, there is currently a lack of knowledge regarding problems that are common across professional boundaries. The purpose of this article is to examine what teaching and assessing professionalism in higher education entails in three distinctly different professional education contexts in Sweden: medical, police, and social-work education. The study is qualitative and comparative, with data consisting of documents (curricula, syllabi, course content n > 200), interviews (n = 18), and participant observations (∼30 h) of how professionalism is taught and assessed in each programme. The results describe the practice architectures of teaching and assessing professionalism, where problems and dilemmas are made visible. The results also show a tension between the ambition to practise and the ambition to assess, which leads to what we call 'assessment avoidance'.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2025
Keywords
Professionalism, professional education, practice theory, medical education, social work education, police education
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-222625 (URN)10.1080/0158037X.2024.2333247 (DOI)001188854600001 ()2-s2.0-85188958221 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2024-03-22 Created: 2024-03-22 Last updated: 2025-05-28Bibliographically approved
Haake, U., Lindberg, O., Rantatalo, O., Poikela, C. & Lindholm, A. (2024). Civilianisering av polisen: forskning om genus, status och professionsgränser inom den brottsutredande verksamheten i Sverige. Umeå University
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Civilianisering av polisen: forskning om genus, status och professionsgränser inom den brottsutredande verksamheten i Sverige
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2024 (Swedish)Report (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå University, 2024. p. 86
Series
Pedagogiska rapporter från Pedagogiska institutionen, ISSN 1403-6169 ; 103
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231449 (URN)978-91-8070-520-2 (ISBN)978-91-8070-521-9 (ISBN)
Available from: 2024-11-05 Created: 2024-11-05 Last updated: 2024-11-05Bibliographically approved
Rantatalo, O., Lindberg, O. & Haake, U. (2024). The enactment of professional boundary work: a case study of crime investigation. Professions & Professionalism, 14(1), Article ID e5345.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The enactment of professional boundary work: a case study of crime investigation
2024 (English)In: Professions & Professionalism, E-ISSN 1893-1049, Vol. 14, no 1, article id e5345Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Professional boundary takes place as actors negotiate occupational boundaries and division of labour. In this article, we examine the conditions of defensive, accommodating, and configurational boundary work in the context of crime investigation. We analyse how professional boundaries are negotiated as civilian investigators become involved with policing. The article is based on 71 interviews with civilian and police crime investigators from a variety of investigation units in Sweden. Findings show how policing as a professional field is shifted as civilians from a wide variety of backgrounds and with varying motivations enter the occupation. Defensive boundary work that devalued civilians was widely occurring. However, boundary work that focused on learning, collaboration, and training was also occurring in high-status units. The discussion focuses on how power asymmetries impact boundary work when professions are undergoing change. This study exemplifies how organizational actors navigate, defend, and challenge their positions as professional boundaries are negotiated.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oslo: OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University, 2024
Keywords
Boundary work, crime investigation, police, policing, professionalism
National Category
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-220874 (URN)10.7577/pp.5345 (DOI)2-s2.0-85183924524 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2024-02-16 Created: 2024-02-16 Last updated: 2025-04-14Bibliographically approved
Lindholm, A., Rantatalo, O., Lindberg, O. & Lundmark, R. (2024). The investigation of online child sexual abuse cases in Sweden: organizational challenges and the need for collaboration. Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing, 11(1)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The investigation of online child sexual abuse cases in Sweden: organizational challenges and the need for collaboration
2024 (English)In: Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing, E-ISSN 2703-7045, Vol. 11, no 1Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Investigating online child sexual abuse (CSA) crimes is challenging for law enforcement agencies, demanding both digital expertise and knowledge about offences against children while exacting a mental toll on investigators. This article identifies challenges in the investigative process, drawing on audit reports, interviews with police management, observations of meetings, and a workshop with online CSA investigators. The findings reveal difficulties in resource allocation due to varying case sizes and rapid escalation. In addition, while online CSA investigators handle most cases, they require support from other police units; however, a widespread fear of these cases among non-specialized investigators complicates collaborative efforts. Lastly, a culture of organizational “compartmentalization” was described as hindering collaboration, as different branches of investigation remain separated. We discuss how these challenges pose problems to online CSA investigation practices.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Universitetsforlaget, 2024
Keywords
online child sexual abuse, CSAM, police investigation, criminal investigation, CSA
National Category
Work Sciences Social Work
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231391 (URN)10.18261/njsp.11.1.7 (DOI)2-s2.0-85211052195 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, STY-2023/0004
Available from: 2024-11-04 Created: 2024-11-04 Last updated: 2024-12-16Bibliographically approved
Projects
Junior researcher: A police for the future? A longitudinal project on police officers' development of reflective abilities in training and early careers [2014-01980_Forte]; Umeå University
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-1440-0470

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