Healthy performance in small enterprises studies of organizational determinants

Sammanfattning: This thesis presents explorative studies aimed at contributing to more knowledge about relations between organizational factors such as aspects of leadership, learning, psychosocial working environment and quality, and relations between these factors and outcomes related to organizational and health performance, in small enterprises. The main focus is not on particular relations in isolation, but on a whole set of factors and the relations between these. The background of the studies is that several public authorities and researchers have discussed that a good working environment and work organization could be related to increased workplace health and organizational performance. However, only a few of all proposals have been transformed into actions, although small enterprises are seen to have difficulties to carry on development processes due to limited resources and knowledge of such processes. The presented studies and analysis are two-level, using both organizational level data for fifty-two enterprises and individual data for the leaders and co-workers (1090 individuals). The empirical findings give support for probable links between healthy work organizational factors and outcomes related to organizational and health performance. Other findings are that several organizational factors are inter-related, and that it is possible to find grouping of enterprises on two general dimensions. This may give support to those working with a concept-driven or holistic change strategy by integrating several aspects, in small enterprises.