Organisatorisk flexibilitet i Hemvärnet : en studie av hemvärnsbefälens uppfattningar utifrån Finkels teori

This study explores how Swedish Home Guard officers perceive the application of flexibility within their battalion, based on Meir Finkel’s theory of military flexibility. A quantitative survey was conducted during a Special Unit Exercise (SÖF) involving Sweden’s 14th Home Guard Battalion. Using multiple regression analysis, the study examines how background variables such as age, training, and years of service influence perceived flexibility across four dimensions: conceptual, organizational/technological, cognitive/command, and experiential. The findings show limited support for several hypotheses, notably revealing a negative relationship between formal training and perceived flexibility. This challenges assumptions in Finkel’s model and suggests that flexibility is shaped less by individual competence and more by systemic, organizational, and cultural conditions. The study contributes new empirical insight into an underexplored military context and highlights the need to reform training, leadership structures, and institutional learning within the Swedish Home Guard to better support adaptive capacity under uncertain conditions.