Behind the Charts - Exploring Conditions for High Level Emergency Response Management in a Complex Environment

Sammanfattning: The thesis uses, as a starting point for a discussion of emergency response management, the problem of gradual coordinated adaptation of management functions in relation to an event and its dynamics. Empirical observations and analyses carried out in the research project show that important problemsolving processes not included in, and sometimes diverging from, planning and preparations frequently occur. The thesis focuses on the managerial problems connected with a variety of different organisations needing to cooperate at a time of emergency or disaster and presents literature findings useful for analysing such problems. Moreover, a method for empirical analysis based on a systems and network approach, and examples of how the method can be employed, is suggested together with a discussion of how emergency response can be influenced by the extent to which the decision makers know and trust each other.