Josef Pallas
Professor at Department of Business Studies; Professors, teachers, researchers
- Telephone:
- +46 18 471 13 83
- E-mail:
- Josef.Pallas@fek.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Ekonomikum
Kyrkogårdsgatan 10, ingång C
751 20 UPPSALA - Postal address:
- Box 513
751 20 UPPSALA
- Academic merits:
- PhD, Docent, Excellent Teacher
Short presentation
Josef Pallas, Phd, is professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University.
Keywords
- governance
- public sector
- resilience
- media
- management
- prizes
- news production
- welfare
- collegiality
Biography
Current Employment
Professor
2017 - Uppsala University, Department of Business Studies
Guest professor
2024 - Univeristy of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business (including The Swedish School of Textiles) - Department of Business Administration and Textile Management
2019 - Charles University, Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences
Associate Professor
2013-2016 Uppsala University, Department of Business Studies
Senior Lecture
2008-2012 Uppsala University
Department of Informatics and Media
PhD program
2003 – 2007 Uppsala University, Department of Business Studies
Thesis defended December 2007
Title of the thesis Talking Organizations: Corporate Media Work and Negotiations of Local Practice
Supervisors prof. Kerstin Sahlin, Jaan Grünberg and Anders Forssell
- (ekonomimagister)
1996 – 2000 Lund University, Department of Business Studies
Thesis defended May 2000
Teacher training courses
2012 Uppsala University
Doctoral Supervision I
2009 EDAMBA, Grenoble Ècole de Management
3rd EDAMBA Winter Academy on Doctoral Supervision and the New Global Research System
2006 Uppsala University
Pedagogy for University Teachers I
Parental leave
20080630 – 20090930 100%
20100701 – 20110630 40%
Visiting positions
2020 – current Member of the Scientific Council at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
2019 - current Visiting scholar - Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University (formally from February 2020)
2019-2020 Guest Professor - Stockholm Center of Organizational Research, Stockholm (September 2019 – March 2020)
2015 Guest Professor – University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada (July 2015 - December 2015)
2006 Guest Researcher – Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (July 2006 - February 2007)
Research
Alongside my work on the mediatization of public sector organizations, I have, in recent years, become involved in studies on control and governance of organizations within the welfare sector and within the field of higher education and research. In these studies, we seek to explore how new governance models (e.g., reforms, regulations, management ideas) enter Swedish welfare providers and universities and how these models affect the way in which these types of organizations are organized, structured, and managed. Here, I am particularly interested in the way public sector organizations increasingly come to be transformed into real organizations, i.e., being constructed and communicated as complete organizations with unique identities, clear formal structures, and the capacity for rational decision-making.
Yet another area of my research focuses on the creation and proliferation of different forms of public appraisals (such as prizes, rankings, and awards) as an expression of the medially embedded structuration of the institutional contexts in which the activities of contemporary organizations are placed, constructed, organized, and performed.
A more recent focus of my work is on stimulating interest in management knowledge generated locally within and between public sector organizations to question and denaturalize the superiority of popular management wisdom and practices in private, public, and third sector organizations.
Ongoing research projects
2024-2027
Welfare Professions and Work-Related Wellbeing in the Wake of System Crisis.
Jan Wallander’s & Tom Hedelius’ foundation
2023-2029
Welfare markets in Sweden: what are the implications for social equity?
Swedish Research Council
2022-2025
Beyond the Nobels: Prizes as Organization in and of Academia
Jan Wallander’s & Tom Hedelius’ foundation
2021-2024
Virtues and challenges of collegiality – lessons from law & architecture firms.
Jan Wallander’s & Tom Hedelius’ foundation
Media
(E13) Pallas, J. (2024) Är en gåva verkligen gratis? Svenska Dagbladet, 2024-07-28
(E12) Hansen, J. & Pallas, J. (2024) Medlemmars engagemang livsviktigt för SULF. Universitetsläraren. 2024-01-18.
(E11) Pellin, L. & Pallas, J. (2024) Personalen visade vägen under covid – låt dem bestämma i nästa kris. Altinget. 2024-02-15
(E10) Arora-Jonasson, S. Engwall, L. Pallas, J. & Wedlin, L. (2023) ”All viktig forskning passar inte i löpsedelsformatet”. Dagens Nyheter. 2023-08-29
(E10) Pallas, J. (2023) Lärosäten ser fackliga frågor som gnäll. Universitetsläraren. 2023-03-24
(E9) Pallas, J (2021) ”Vi behöver mer tilltro till professionell yrkeskunskap”. Dagens Arena 2021-05-28.
(E8) Lövgren, D. & Pallas, J. (2019) ”Omotiverat att alltid hylla näringslivets ideal”. Svenska Dagbladet. 2019-01-06
(E7) Pallas, J. (2016) ”Crazy is the new black”, Organisation och Samhälle. Föreningen Företagsekonomi i Sverige. Gothenburg: GRI.
(E6) Pallas, J. & Fredriksson, M. (2014) ”Släpp fram intern kritik”, Uppsala Nya Tidning. 2014-12-11
(E5) Pallas, J. (2014) ”The course of media literacy – or when is time to fire the PR-consultant”. Mercury (6) Department of Business Studies. Uppsala: Uppsala University.
(E4) Pallas, J. (2013) “Deceptions of consistency - challenges for public sector communication.” Mercury (5) Department of Business Studies. Uppsala: Uppsala University.
(E3) Pallas, J. (2013) Media and Mercury (5) Department of Business Studies. Uppsala: Uppsala University.
(E2) Pallas. J. & Fredriksson, M. (2014) “Rop på samverkan kan leda till korruption”. Svenska Dagbladet. 2014-01-06
(E1) Pallas, J. & Fredriksson, M. (2013) “Myndigheter polerar fasaden”. Svenska Dagbladet. 2013-05-16

Publications
Selection of publications
Mediatization & Corporate Reputation
Part of The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Sage Publications, 2016
Part of The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society, Sage Publications, 2015
Part of Mediatization of Communication, Walter de Gruyter, 2014
Creativity Caged in Translation: A Neo-Institutional Perspective on Crisis Communication
Part of Relaciones Internacionales, 2014
Organizations and the Media: Organizing in a mediatized world
Routledge, 2014
Strategic communication as institutional work
Part of The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, Routledge, 2014
Part of The Governance of Modern Universities, 2013
Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
Part of Public Relations Inquiry, p. 183-203, 2013
- DOI for Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
- Download full text (pdf) of Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
2013
Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
Part of European Journal of Communication, p. 420-435, 2013
- DOI for Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
- Download full text (pdf) of Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
Beyond the news desk: the embeddedness of business news
Part of Media Culture and Society, p. 216-233, 2013
Part of Global themes and local variations in organization and management, p. 295-308, Routledge, 2013
Reputation and Legitimacy: Accreditation and Rankings to Assess Organizations
Part of Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013
Providing, promoting and co-opting: Corporate media work in a mediatized society
Part of Journal of Communication Management, p. 165-178, 2011
Regler, normer och föreställningar.: Ett neoinstitutionellt perspektiv på strategisk kommunikation
Part of Strategisk kommunikation. Forskning och praktik, Liber, 2011
Liber, 2010
Part of Företag och medier, p. 6-24, Liber, 2010
Part of Exploring the Worlds of Mercury and Minerva, p. 243-256, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2009
Ekonominyhetens väg: Från kvartalsrapporter till ekonominyheter
2006
Recent publications
The diminishing spaces for collegial work
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2025
- DOI for The diminishing spaces for collegial work
- Download full text (pdf) of The diminishing spaces for collegial work
COVID-19 Stories from the Swedish Welfare State: The Pandemicracy
Bristol University Press, 2025
An ecology of ideas permeating science, higher education, and society: Essays for Kerstin Sahlin
Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2024
Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, p. 21-39, 2024
- DOI for Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
- Download full text (pdf) of Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
Part of Filozofia (Bratislava), p. 1159-1173, 2024
- DOI for Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
- Download full text (pdf) of Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
All publications
Articles in journal
The diminishing spaces for collegial work
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2025
- DOI for The diminishing spaces for collegial work
- Download full text (pdf) of The diminishing spaces for collegial work
Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, p. 21-39, 2024
- DOI for Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
- Download full text (pdf) of Not So Logical, After All: Public Managers' Understandings of Media
Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
Part of Filozofia (Bratislava), p. 1159-1173, 2024
- DOI for Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
- Download full text (pdf) of Practicing Uncertainty as Resilience
Bureaucracy under pressure: New(s) management practices in central government agencies
Part of European Management Journal, p. 295-304, 2024
Producing and sustaining field-configuring events: The role of prizes in a Swedish Book Fair
Part of Culture and Organization, p. 47-64, 2024
- DOI for Producing and sustaining field-configuring events: The role of prizes in a Swedish Book Fair
- Download full text (pdf) of Producing and sustaining field-configuring events: The role of prizes in a Swedish Book Fair
Under the Press(ure)?: The Role of Media in Organisation and Provision of Municipal Elderly Care
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, p. 67-88, 2022
- DOI for Under the Press(ure)?: The Role of Media in Organisation and Provision of Municipal Elderly Care
- Download full text (pdf) of Under the Press(ure)?: The Role of Media in Organisation and Provision of Municipal Elderly Care
Mediespökets betydelse för styrning, organisering och ledning av äldreomsorgen
Part of Organisation & Samhälle, p. 34-39, 2021
Under the influence of politics: Mediatization and political-administrative systems in Scandinavia
Part of Nordic Journal of Media Studies, p. 85-96, 2019
- DOI for Under the influence of politics: Mediatization and political-administrative systems in Scandinavia
- Download full text (pdf) of Under the influence of politics: Mediatization and political-administrative systems in Scandinavia
Translated Inconsistency: Management Communication Under the Reign of Institutional Ambiguity
Part of Management Communication Quarterly, p. 473-478, 2017
Diverging principles for strategic communication in government agencies
Part of International Journal of Strategic Communication, p. 153-164, 2016
Typical tools for assessment of communicative performance
Part of Corporate Reputation Review, p. 47-58, 2016
Part of International Journal of Strategic Communication, p. 149-152, 2016
Translating institutional logic: When the media logic meets professions
Part of Organization Studies, p. 1661-1684, 2016
Much ado about media: Public relations in public agencies in the wake of managerialism
Part of Journal of Public Relations Research, p. 600-606, 2016
Organizations, Prizes and Media
Part of Journal of Organizational Change Management, p. 1066-1082, 2016
Part of Public Administration, p. 1049-1067, 2015
Creativity Caged in Translation: A Neo-Institutional Perspective on Crisis Communication
Part of Relaciones Internacionales, 2014
The course of media literacy: or when is time to fire the PR-consultant
Part of Mercury Magazine, p. 60-63, 2014
Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
Part of Public Relations Inquiry, p. 183-203, 2013
- DOI for Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
- Download full text (pdf) of Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
Part of European Journal of Communication, p. 420-435, 2013
- DOI for Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
- Download full text (pdf) of Corporate Media Work and Micro-Dynamics of Mediatization
Deceptions of consistency: challenges for public sector communication
Part of Mercury, p. 40-44, 2013
Beyond the news desk: the embeddedness of business news
Part of Media Culture and Society, p. 216-233, 2013
Providing, promoting and co-opting: Corporate media work in a mediatized society
Part of Journal of Communication Management, p. 165-178, 2011
Books
COVID-19 Stories from the Swedish Welfare State: The Pandemicracy
Bristol University Press, 2025
Bokförlaget Atlas, 2023
Chapters in book
Becoming a symbol and losing control: The Gothenburg Book Fair and the alt-right debate
Part of Managing Cultural Festivals, p. 130-146, Routledge, 2022
Pandemicracy and organizing in unsettling times
Part of Organizational Communication and Technology in the Time of Coronavirus, p. 21-47, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022
Ideas of public relations in the light of Scandinavian institutionalism
Part of Handbook of Public Relations, p. 509-524, Mouton de Gruyter, 2021
Intresseorganisationer, metaorganisationer och kommunikation: röster och arenor för policyformering
Part of Organisationer och kommunikation, p. 221-258, Studentlitteratur AB, 2021
Part of Framtidens välfärd, p. 87-104, Studentlitteratur AB, 2021
Public sector communication and mediatization
Part of Handbook of Public Sector Communication, p. 167-180, Wiley-Blackwell, 2020
Part of Power, communication and politics in the Nordic countries, Nordicom, 2020
Slutet på den osynliga vetenskapen?: Tio sätt att öka synligheten – eller låta bli
Part of Ledning och (sned-)styrning i högskolan, p. 243-268, Studentlitteratur AB, 2020
Between Market and Culture: The Case of the Gothenburg Book Fair
Part of Museum Marketization, p. 61-77, Routledge, 2019
Prizes and the organization of status
Part of Organization outside organization, p. 62-83, Cambridge University Press, 2019
Between market and culture: The case of the Gothenburg Book Fair
Part of Museum marketization:, Routledge, 2019
Svenska myndigheter i Almedalen 2005 – 2017
Part of Almedalen, SSE Institute for Research, 2018
On Meyer: Public Relations in a Context of World Society, Soft Actors and Rationalized De-coupling
Part of Public Relations andSocial Theory, Routledge, 2018
Resituating Corporate Governance
Part of Corporate Governance in Action, p. 1-24, Routledge, 2018
Part of Corporate Governance in Action, p. 163-183, Routledge, 2018
Part of Corporate Governance in Action, p. 185-198, Routledge, 2018
A Field Approach to Corporate Governance
Part of Corporate Governance in Action, p. 25-41, Routledge, 2018
styrning och frihet - en ohelig allians?
Part of Det ostyrda universitetet?, p. 9-37, Makadam Förlag, 2017
Part of Det ostyrda universitetet?, p. 299-326, Makadam Förlag, 2017
Public sector communication and media visibility and mediatization
Part of Handbook of Public Sector Communication, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017
Part of Dynamics of mediatization, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017
Mediatization & Corporate Reputation
Part of The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Sage Publications, 2016
Accreditations & Certifications
Part of The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Sage Publications, 2016
Divided we stand: Akademiska ledares idéer om vad vi har universitet till
Part of Det styrda universitet., Santérus Förlag, 2016
Part of Handbook of Public Relations Theory and Methods, Wiley-Blackwell, 2016
Part of The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society, Sage Publications, 2015
Public Relations and Neo-institutional theory
Part of Strategic Communication, Routledge, 2015
Part of Mediatization of Communication, Walter de Gruyter, 2014
Strategic communication as institutional work
Part of The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, Routledge, 2014
Media and Organizations: Images, Practices and Organizing
Part of Organizations and the Media, p. 1-14, Routledge, 2014
Media Enactments: Where to Look for Inspiration in Mediatization Studies
Part of Organizations and the Media, Routledge, 2014
Part of Global themes and local variations in organization and management, p. 295-308, Routledge, 2013
Reputation and Legitimacy: Accreditation and Rankings to Assess Organizations
Part of Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013
Regler, normer och föreställningar.: Ett neoinstitutionellt perspektiv på strategisk kommunikation
Part of Strategisk kommunikation. Forskning och praktik, Liber, 2011
Part of Företag och medier, p. 6-24, Liber, 2010
Part of Företag och medier, p. 209-228, Liber, 2010
Utanför nyhetsdesken: om nyhetsproduktion som interaktivt kretslopp
Part of Företag och medier, p. 41-57, Liber, 2010
Part of Exploring the Worlds of Mercury and Minerva, p. 243-256, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2009
The Negotiation of Business News
Part of Mediating Business, p. 217-233, Copenhagen Business School Press, 2007
Part of Mediating Business, Copenhagen Business School Press, 2007
Collections (editor)
An ecology of ideas permeating science, higher education, and society: Essays for Kerstin Sahlin
Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2024
Det ostyrda universitetet?: Perspektiv på styrning, autonomi och reform av svenska lärosäten
Makadam Förlag, 2017
Organizations and the Media: Organizing in a mediatized world
Routledge, 2014
Liber, 2010
Conference papers
2016
Media at the center: Public relations in public administrations in the wake of managerialism
2015
2015
Translating media(tization) into organizational contexts.
2015
2015
Responses to mediatization: A case of Swedish governmental agency
Part of Reconceptualizing Contemporary Public Services Organizations, p. 1-32, 2014
Part of INCONSISTENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION, p. 1-17, 2014
Part of Rethinking the Mediatization of Politics, p. 1-32, 2014
Corporate Media Work and Lobbying
Part of The 4th Govemark network workshop, 2013
Creativity Caged in Translation: A Neo-Institutional Perspective on Crisis Communication
2013
Typical tools for assessment of communicative performance
Part of Public Sector Responses To Global Crisis, 2013
Part of The Governance of Modern Universities, 2013
Corporate Media Work and Lobbying
2013
2012
The Negotiation of Corporate News: A Study of Source-Media Interaction
2006
2004
Talking Organizations: A Narrative Analysis of Corporate Press Releases - an Institutional View
2004
Monograph doctoral thesis
Reports
Other
James Suzman: Arbete - En historik över vad vi gör med vår tid
Part of Organisation & Samhälle, 2022
Part of puntOorg International Journal, 2022