Johan Alvehus

My research is primarily focused on three theoretical areas, which I have explored through empirical studies of, for example, schools and healthcare. A recurring theme in my research is my interest in professional organizations and the specific conditions they entail with regard to, for example, power relations.

The first area is leadership, where I am particularly interested in the “dirty” sides of leadership, such as lies, deceit, manipulation, and organizational politics. In my research, I therefore draw attention to aspects of leadership that are not normally part of the discourse on leadership. I have discussed this in several scientific articles, published in for example Leadership, Organization Studies, and Journal of Change Management.

The second area is administration and control in the public sector. A few years ago, together with Gustaf Kastberg Weichselberger, I coined the term “midocracy” (Swe: mittokrati) to describe and explain the expansion and change of administration in the public sector (paper under publication). Professions and professionalization processes play a crucial role in these developments. In my book The Logic of Professionalism (Bristol University Press, 2022), I developed a theory to approach such phenomena.

The third area is methodology and academic writing. I recently published Crafting Your Thesis and Formulating Research Problems (Routledge, 2025 and 2026). Together with Brigid Carroll and Stephanie Schnurr, I am editor of the forthcoming anthology De Gruyter Handbook of Qualitative Leadership Research Methods: Beyond the Trodden Paths (De Gruyter).

I am currently project manager for the project The epistemic authority of management knowledge, in which Olof Hallonsten and I are investigating why management knowledge has gained such a prominent role in society (funded by the Swedish Research Council), and for the project Balanced innovation management for transition: Between formal decision-making structures and distributed leadership, which I am conducting together with Marcus Persson (funded by Forsknings- och Utvecklingsfonden, City of Helsingborg).

Photo: Andreas Gruvhammar.