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The aim of this article is to describe and analyze a case of interorganizational and intersectoral collaboration on workplace health promotion involving nine municipalities in a Swedish region.

A holistic case study design was chosen. The work of a project group responsible for developing plans for collaboration in the target area of health promoting leadership was studied. Observations at project meetings, interviews with project members, and written project documents were analyzed by qualitative methods.

Collaboration on health promoting leadership was seen as a strategy to reduce the sickness rate among the employees in the municipalities. The best way to develop such leadership was considered to be through supporting good leadership in general and improving the general working conditions of managers in the municipalities. Moreover, it was regarded as a critical condition to have structural arrangements and resources to continue this collaboration.

An implication of the study is that collaboration on workplace health promotion should be organized initially on a small scale, giving time and opportunities for the participants to develop mutual trust with one another. It is also important to involve participants with different knowledge and experiences in the field. Thus, it may be possible to develop strategies for health‐promoting leadership contributing to the overall aim of a decreased sickness rate.

There is limited research on barriers and facilitating factors for interorganizational and intersectoral collaboration on workplace health promotion. This study contributes an analysis of important conditions for this kind of collaboration.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to show that the Swedish health care system has undergone major changes during the last decades, which have exerted strong influence on the operational freedom of physicians. Design/methodology/approach – This study consisted of 169 physicians in management positions, who answered a questionnaire assessing the relationship between their organizational settings and their perceived wellbeing. The organizational setting was defined as contact with top management, decision‐making influence, well defined organization and whether the physician is acting as a leader. The perceived wellbeing was defined as social climate, work related exhaustion, work satisfaction, influence, development ability and supportive leadership. Findings – According to the results, organizational support improves work satisfaction and mental energy, and decreases work related exhaustion among physicians. This all leads to decreasing turnover rate among physicians. Originality/value – These results point to the importance of maintaining a positive and supportive atmosphere for physicians in their work environment in order to encourage physicians to remain and take on management positions in the health care system. Furthermore enhancing physician influence over decision making processes is important to counteract work‐related exhaustion and it might also contribute to a more efficient organization.

As part of the preparations for the accession of Slovenia to the European Union, the National Health Insurance Institute has introduced a European model for quality management. In this regard, a benchmarking has been carried out, comparing the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia with the Accounts Office of Cumbernauld in the UK. This was a so‐called generic benchmarking between two public service organisations in different fields and it was made by third parties focusing on the quality of the processes of the two organisations. The results of the comparative analysis show that the health insurance institute has strong financial management, supported by a well‐developed model for partnership negotiations and advanced applications of information technology. There are, however, weaknesses in the management of human resources and quality improvements. To counteract these weaknesses requires a cultural change within the health insurance institute.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the experiences of an intervention programme for development of health promoting leadership in Gothenburg in Sweden. The more specific purpose is to identify critical aspects of such a programme as part of the development of a health promoting workplace.

A programme supporting managers in health promoting leadership was studied. The study was performed as a holistic case study design. In total, 17 semi‐structured interviews were conducted, supplemented with data from a leadership survey. The material was coded according to the principles of content analysis, resulting in the three main categories: comprehensiveness, integration and participation.

The results show the importance of regarding the development of health promoting leadership as a contribution to the building of organisational capacity for health promoting workplaces. This requires a comprehensive approach, including both individual and structural aspects, as well as an integration of programme ideas into the practice of management. Moreover, a wide participation in the planning and design of the programme is desirable. The concrete outcomes of this programme were action plans for workplace health promotion developed during the programme. For the participating managers a positive part of the programme was also the possibilities for reflecting and sharing experiences.

This study contributes knowledge and experiences that can be applied in the development of health promoting leadership. There is, however, a need for clearer health promoting goals and sub‐goals in order to assess the health outcomes of such a leadership programme.

A Swedish framework law has enabled integration between public agencies in vocational rehabilitation. With the support of this law, coordination associations can be formed to fund and organize joint activities. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how the law has been interpreted and translated into local coordination associations and how local institutional logics have developed to guide the organization of these associations.

Data was collected through observations of meetings within two coordination associations and supplemented with documents. The material was analyzed by compilation and examination of data from field notes, whereupon the most important aspects were crystallized and framed with institutional organization theory.

Two different translations of the law were seen in the associations studied: the association as an independent actor, and as an arena for its member organizations. Two subsequent institutional logics have developed, influencing decisions on autonomy, objectives and rationality for initiating and organizing in the two associations and their activities. The institutional logics are circular, further enhancing the different translations creating different forms of integration.

Both forms of integration are legitimate, but the different translations have created integration with different degrees of autonomy in relation to the member organizations. Only a long‐term analysis can show whether one form of integration is more functional than the other.

This article is based on an extensive material providing insights into a form of interorganizational integration which has been scarcely researched. The findings show how different translations can influence the integration of welfare services.

Reviews the latest management development across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Workplace health promotion creates real benefits to an organization. But, in order to create and sustain a health promoting workplace, it is worthwhile to invest in the development of health promoting leadership. The study under review shows the importance of regarding the development of health promoting leadership as a contribution of the building of organizational capacity. In particular, it assesses the comprehensiveness of an intervention programme in Sweden, its integration with other health promoting activities, and the participation of managers.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

Central to the concerns of management and to writers of organisation theory are the considerations of strategic decision making. The Organisational Analysis Research Unit, in the Management Centre, University of Bradford, has been researching the process of strategic decision making in thirty British organisations, a sample ranging from orchestras to a police force with industrial and service organisations in between. The research was initiated in response to the apparent lack of any systematic comparative studies of decision making appearing elsewhere.