CEO or Octopus? Negotiating Identity Across Institutional Logics: Understanding the Complex Role of Principals in Sweden’s Decentralised and Diverse School System

Abstract (Swedish)

I Sveriges decentraliserade och diversifierade skolsystem verkar rektorer i skärningspunkten mellan pedagogiska ideal, organisatoriska krav och föränderliga styrformer. Denna uppsats undersöker hur rektorer i kommunala, privata och ideellt drivna grundskolor tolkar och utövar sina professionella roller inom dessa institutionellt mångfacetterade sammanhang. Genom intervjuer med svenska rektorer i dessa olika skolformer studerar vi hur skilda organisatoriska styrstrukturer påverkar deras autonomi, identitetsarbete, relationer till intressenter, emotionella arbete och strategiska handlingsutrymme, samt deras förmåga att leda under resurs- och legitimitetsmässiga begränsningar.

Teoretiska perspektiv från styrning, hybrid professionalitet, mellanchefsroller och gränsarbete sammanförs i vår konceptuella utveckling av Professional Identity Model (PIM), som vi vidareutvecklar till PIM 2.0 för att spegla komplexiteten i professionellt identitetsarbete. Våra resultat visar hur rektorer förhandlar om begränsad autonomi, föränderliga legitimitetskrav och emotionell komplexitet genom strategiskt och relationellt gränsarbete. Trots att alla verkar inom hybrida logiker, varierar deras ledarskap och identitetskonstruktioner avsevärt beroende på styrformer, lokal kontext och personlig disposition—vilket yttrar sig i olika grader av flexibilitet, intressentengagemang och sätt att balansera motstridiga krav.

Studien bidrar till förståelsen av professionell identitet i komplexa styrningssammanhang, där ledarskap formas av institutionell logik samt emotionella, relationella och kontextuella faktorer. Dessa insikter erbjuder ett aktuellt bidrag till den pågående debatten om det svenska skolsystemet, där frågor om styrning, ansvarstagande och rektorers autonomi sammanfaller med bredare utmaningar kring rättvis utbildning och skolans framtida riktning.

Abstract

In Sweden’s decentralised and diverse school system, principals operate at the intersection of pedagogical ideals, organisational demands, and shifting governance structures. This thesis examines how principals in public, private, and NGO-run elementary schools interpret and enact their professional roles within these institutionally diverse settings. By interviewing Swedish principals in these distinct school types, we study how different organisational governance structures influence their autonomy, identity work, stakeholder relationships, emotional labour, and strategic agency, as well as their capacity to lead under resource and legitimacy constraints.
Theoretical insights from governance, hybrid professionalism, middle management, and boundary work converge in our conceptual development of the Professional Identity Model (PIM), which we further refine into PIM 2.0 to reflect the complexity of professional identity work. Our findings reveal how principals negotiate constrained autonomy, shifting legitimacy demands, and emotional complexity through strategic and relational boundary work. While all operate under hybrid logics, their leadership practices and identity constructions vary significantly depending on governance structures, local context, and personal disposition—manifesting in areas such as differing degrees of flexibility, stakeholder engagement, and approaches to balancing competing demands.
This study contributes to the conceptualisation of professional identity in complex governance contexts, where leadership is shaped by institutional logics, emotional, relational, and contextual forces—offering a grounded, multi-dimensional understanding of practice. These insights offer a timely contribution to ongoing debates in the Swedish school system, where questions of governance, accountability, and principal autonomy intersect with broader concerns about educational equality and its future direction.

Popular Abstract

In Sweden’s diverse school system, principals face the challenge of balancing educational goals, organisational demands, and changing rules. This study explores how principals in public, private, and NGO elementary schools experience their roles differently depending on their school’s governance. By interviewing Swedish principals, we uncover how these different settings affect their ability to lead, relationships with stakeholders, emotional work, and strategies for handling limited resources and legitimacy.

Through the lens of our crafted model of professional identity, we show how principals navigate these complex challenges through flexible leadership and boundary work. While all principals juggle competing demands, their approaches vary widely based on their school’s structure and local context.

This research sheds light on how leadership is shaped by institutional pressures and individual personality, offering new insights into ongoing debates about school governance and educational equality in Sweden.

• author: Sjöberg, Emilia and Runfors, Ebba
• supervisor: Ola Mattisson
• organization: Department of Business Administration
• course: MGTN59 20251
• year: 2025
• type: H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
• subject: Social Sciences; Business and Economics
• keywords: Keywords: autonomy, boundary work, education, emotional labour, governance, hybrid professionalis, leadership, middle managers, principalship, professional identity, resource constraints, stakeholder engagement, strategic agency, Swedish school system
• language: English
• id: 9208416
• date added to LUP: 2025-08-19 09:58:16
• date last changed: 2025-08-19 09:58:16