University of Gothenburg
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Tom Karlsson

Senior Lecturer

School of Public
Administration
Telephone
+46 31-786 56 35
+46 766-18 56 35
Mail
tom.karlsson@spa.gu.se
Visiting address
Sprängkullsgatan 19
41123 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 712
40530 Göteborg

Director of Studies

School of Public
Administration
Telephone
+46 31-786 56 35
+46 766-18 56 35
Mail
tom.karlsson@spa.gu.se
Visiting address
Sprängkullsgatan 19
41123 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 712
40530 Göteborg

About Tom Karlsson

Tom S. Karlsson is an associate professor of public administration with a background in business administration (accounting and financial control). His research interest is in governance and organisation of public authorities (central and local) and he often takes a historical focus to understand the effects of modern reforms. His research has included new public management (NPM), historical reform work, marketisation and the role of language in governance.

Ongoing research

New public management and its alternatives

This research focuses on both what new public management is conceptually and what it has been and become in practice. The research that has been conducted has been able to show, among other things, how new public management has partly become something different in Sweden than what is usually described in international contexts, but also that the concept as well as the empirical phenomenon has a strong resilience, which has made it difficult to break free from. In the context of this research, the focus has also been on alternative ideas such as post-NPM and trust. Findings from the research have been published in journals such as Public Management Review, Financial Accountability & Management and Public Organization Review, as well as in books from Routledge, Santerus and Studentlitteratur.

The construction of the citizen as customer

The research takes as its starting point that the designation of those who live and work in a society matters. Traditionally, this term has been citizen, but has gradually become synonymous with or completely replaced by customer. This project studies when, where and how the term customer can be used and what effects or consequences may follow from such a conceptual shift. Results from the research have been presented at SWEPSA 2022, in research anthologies at the Swedish National Agency for Public Management and in the journal Språktidningen.

The role of accounting in social sustainability

This research approaches the field of sustainability from an accounting perspective, which means that the construction and use of measurable indicators is central. Two aspects are of particular interest. First, how social sustainability can be measured and valued in organizations. That is, how can organisations create a monitoring system that is continuous and dynamic? Secondly, what happens to societies that are deemed to be socially unsustainable. That is, what happens to areas that are deemed segregated or socio-economically vulnerable by authorities and other actors?

Teaching and academic positions

Tom teaches, supervises and graduates at bachelor, master and doctoral level, primarily in the areas of financial management, organisation and leadership. He also participates in commissioned training, usually with a focus on the historical reform work of government and agencies.

Tom is the Director of Studies for Bachelor's and Master's level education at the School of Public Administration and is the programme coordinator for the Nordic Master's programme Nordic Master in Public Administration, Leadership, and Digitalization, 120 credits. He is also a member of the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2022-2024).

Tom is the editor of the journal Organisation & Society since 2023. He has previously been the editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration.

Specific competences

New Public Management, governance and organisation in public administration, managerialism, market reforms.

Read more about Tom S. Karlsson on Research Gate