Att styra det ideella som ett företag : Företagslik professionalisering och ideell identitet på Svenska Röda Korset

Sammanfattning: Becoming business-like is a phenomenon that is gaining more and more attention in the non-profit sector. One aspect within this phenomenon is professionalization; which implies that there are an increased number of professional employees, higher demands on volunteers, and that there is a perception that experts should be in charge. This has influenced the governance of non-profit organizations to become more business-like through greater formalities, increased competence and education. At the same time, these organizations are expected to be driven primarily by volunteers, which limits the possibilities for formal control. The field of research has found that professionalization is a widespread phenomenon, but has not considered what happens to business-like organizational ideas when they travel within the organization. This study contributes to the field of research by increasing the understanding of how professionalization manifests itself in terms of management at different organizational levels, as well as how this affects the non-profit identity. Following an in-depth qualitative case study of the Swedish Red Cross, this study concludes that professionalization is primarily expressed in management through a strong focus on professional skills and increased administrative requirements, and that it appears to be an influential aspect of two different organizational identities. This is based on 13 interviews with people at three different organizational levels, seven participatory observations at the second-hand shop Kupan, as well as analysis of externally and internally produced documentation. By using translation theory, the study shows that professional ideas undergo editing and translation when they travel within the organization. Thus, the study's conclusions also indicate that professionalization decreases at lower levels. Nevertheless, the perception of two different organizational identities remains a consequence of decoupling; a strategy to meet the environment's expectations of being both a professional and non-profit organization. This creates a distance between the organizational levels and reduces the individuals sense of belonging. Furthermore, this study shows that further research is needed examining what happens to ideas about professionalization when they travel within organizations, to truly understand the phenomenon.