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The aim of this article is to explain why there is a higher degree of trust in some countries compared to others – and which are the main historical factors that explain these differences. The main focus is on how governments relate to and communicate with its citizens in the times of crises.

The analysis is based on comparative historical sociology with a modernity perspective with a special focus on Norway and Scandinavia. The authors do a parallel demonstration of history to confirm and expand the theories that could explain the high level of trust in these countries. The authors also bring in the Spanish experience in order to testify how governmental reactions affected the different levels of trust.

Scandinavian governments allowed open communication between different social classes on difficult and important issues, in contrast to Spain in the same period. These two factors therefore expand the understanding of the development of trust: (1) The establishment of the nation state as the organising concept and all-encompassing container of the other institutions (democracy, parliamentarism, trade unions, etc.); (2) The open hand strategy in dealing with deviant opinions, based on democratic compromises and a policing of consent ideology.

The article combines the understanding of the first crisis of modernity and the development of trust and contain a comparative analysis of the development of trust in four different countries. The investigation thus clarifies the correlation between specific historical factors and the levels of trust.

This study aims to examine the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management (TBM) in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). TBM is a novel “anti-New Public Management (NPM)” innovation within the realm of New Public Governance (NPG), which asserts that leadership and control in public sector organizations should be practiced and designed based on the assumption that civil servants and employees in general are trustworthy. The research questions are as follows: How has TBM been diffused and implemented in Scandinavia? To what extent can the institutional logics framework increase understanding of similarities and differences between the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)?

The authors designed and submitted surveys to the municipal directors of the three Scandinavian municipal populations, thereby producing a unique cross-country dataset on TBM diffusion and implementation in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden).

The authors' study shows that TBM has diffused widely among Scandinavian municipalities and has developed into a municipal-level concept across policy fields and sectors. While Denmark stands out as an earlier and more decisive TBM reformer, the results show that similarities in the diffusion and implementation of TBM in Scandinavian countries are more apparent than the differences.

This study contributes to the public management literature and research on anti-NPM and NPG concepts by being the first wide-scale empirical study of TBM diffusion and implementation in the Scandinavian municipal sectors.

Values, meanings, and attitudes are deep motivators and controllers of human feelings, thinking, speech and action. In management by values, the primary focus is on developing, maintaining, and ensuring that the organization members have healthy and productive values. In other words the pivotal strategy is to ensure that the culture is strong. The idea is that once this criterion has been satisfied, the empowered employees will be self‐managing and intrinsically motivated to make sure they serve the customers well, productivity and quality are high, and the economic results are sound. Presents a case study of the service company Manpower Scandinavia, where this concept has been implemented practically since 1984. Shows this has led to sustainable practical benefits in terms of a considerable long‐term growth in gross turnover, high customer satisfaction, low employee turnover, virtually nil control in the traditional sense, and high market share. Several of these factors have a direct positive bearing on productivity.

Scandinavian research in systems development can be grouped into three major traditions, based on quite different ideologies and theories: the systems theoretical school, the socio‐technical school and the critical school. The differences between these schools are closely related to the historical and social contexts in which they developed. External political, economic and cultural factors have strongly influenced research in this field. In particular, the basic theoretical differences between the schools reflect their different interpretations of the relationship between capital and labour.

The application of new technology to Scandinavian libraries has not differed greatly from country to country, except for Iceland, where library automation was introduced later. The Nordic Council for Scientific Information and Research Libraries (NORDINFO) has actively encouraged interlibrary co‐operation at both national and international level. Chief amongst such initiatives has been the National Technological Library of Denmark's computerized location and on‐line ordering system ALIS. Many libraries now make their holdings available on‐line. Scandinavian libraries receive 50% of their international loans from BLDSC, and take advantage wherever possible of its technological facilities for automated request transmission. If system interface were improved, the existing DOCLINE link between Chalmers University Library, TIB and BLDSC could be extended in scope. New technology is increasing library co‐operation across Scandinavia.

This paper presents some aspects of branding the Scandinavian snow tourism product. The authors argue that the Scandinavian suppliers to the non‐Nordic market need a stronger image and more distinct differentiation, and that a Scandinavian umbrella brand might be helpful to serve the purpose of increasing the combined market share of Scandinavian suppliers in non‐Nordic markets. In support of their views empirical observations are presented which confirm the rational for a Scandinavian umbrella brand and a potential for differentiation not yet utilised. Branding is discussed within the context of a strategic alliance between Scandinavian suppliers. These suppliers are conceptualised as a strategic group. The conceptual and managerial complexity of branding a product associated with three different countries is noted. The paper concludes by indicating areas for future research.

A survey of developments in interlibrary co‐operation in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Various possibilities for closer co‐operation between countries or between libraries are discussed, as is the possibility of a Scandinavian international lending library or a Swedish national library. Mention is made of the Scandia‐plan and of LIBRIS

This paper explores some social‐psychological aspects of South Asian young adults in Denmark, including identity processes through social relations across geographical borders and psychological diaspora consciousness, and is a follow‐up of a project conducted in the mid‐nineties, in Denmark (N = 14). Diasporic conceptualisations focusing on human‐centredness and processes in migration, combined with a lifecourse perspective, provide the theoretical framework for this study. The method used is in‐depth interviews, analysed through condensation and meaningful categorisation of the narratives. The young adults are perceived as active actors in relation to their life situation. The results show the young adults', as well as the parental generations', re‐interpretation of the self, other and home. They also show that the young adults' diasporic identities involve the countries of origin as well as the Scandinavian welfare societies. However, the myth of return is not supported, although the countries of residence have adopted increasingly restrictive migration policies in the past years.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the European transnational migration of poverty in a regional context, specifically focusing on homelessness among the migrant poor in Norway and Sweden. Gathering insight from individuals who routinely assist with social care, this research seeks to find out if the liberal provision of welfare and supportive services attracts poor migrants to this region from other parts of Europe.

Qualitative in-depth interviews with individuals who provide social care assistance to homeless migrants in Oslo and Stockholm.

The influx of people experiencing homelessness in these areas is comprised mainly of two distinct sub-populations. One group migrated in search of employment opportunities but struggled with tenuous working and living arrangements. A second more transient group appeared to be motivated by perceptions of Scandinavian benevolence and charity. Both groups lacked familiarity with the social welfare system but were generally uninhibited by cultural differences between their destination and country of origin.

The intent of this study is not to generalize to a broader population but to develop an in-depth exploration of homelessness and migration from the perspective of social care workers. Purposive sampling is used to gather insights from key informants that work closely with homeless migrants; however the findings can be limited by the unique experiences of each individual.

In the public discourse on homelessness it is a mistake to group all homeless migrants together. Additionally it is important to distinguish between the needs of migrants and non-migrants, as these two homeless populations generally do not struggle with the same issues.

With a better understanding of this issue, governments will be able to provide more adequate assistance and develop more effective initiatives to combat and prevent homelessness.

Purpose – To examine the evolution of the online newspaper genre in Scandinavia. To provide an understanding of the institutional context in which online newspapers initially were produced and modified over time. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal study of three different types of newspapers in three Scandinavian countries. The study is based on interviews with newspaper representatives conducted during recurring visits in 1996, 1999 and 2002, and web page analysis of their online newspapers. Findings – The study illustrates how online newspapers have established a number of communicative practices significant for recognizing them as a distinct digital genre, and it outlines a set of institutional factors shaping the ongoing change of these newspapers. In addition, the study demonstrates the emergence of sequential interdependencies between online and printed news. Originality/value – The focus on Scandinavian newspapers in this paper complements studies conducted in other parts of the world regarding online newspaper genre evolution.