The Nordic Municipal CEO Model: Stability in Change

Abstract

In this concluding chapter of the book Managing Nordic Local Governments: Paradoxes and Challenges of the Municipal Chief Executive, we present the main findings in relation to the Nordic municipal chief executive officer (MCEO) model of embeddedness. The MCEO role is discussed in relation to each of the seven conditions: the local–national welfare state, the governance model, regional dynamics and disparities, political–administrative organizations, leadership expectations, public servants, and career systems. Each of the seven conditions is put into context with the demands, constraints, and choices of the MCEO position to demonstrate the entangled institutional web of the position of the Nordic MCEO. The chapter concludes by discussing the research questions of the book. The main findings of the book suggest that the fundamentals of the MCEO position remain relatively stable over the study period, demonstrating incremental rather than major changes. In sum, the role of the Nordic MCEO has a long tradition, and its importance does not seem to be diminishing; rather, it is the opposite.