Public Housing in Sweden : The Umeå Two-Step

• Comparative housing analyses often find that Swedish public housing represents an interesting story because it provides a good class of rental housing to all sections of the population. This approach has been called the “Swedish public housing model”. An in-depth case study has been used to develop a system-wide understanding of a participant’s involvement in its housing market. In this case study, the public utility/energy and water-sewage/solid waste companies played a significant role in the company’s ability to serve the local community. It thus behooves us to compare and connect the different components in the public housing company business model to complete the analysis of success in the value chain. Two-levels describe the situation. At the first level, the municipal public housing (MPH) organization is seen as functioning as a tenant-oriented, quasi-municipal utility within a value network composed of the municipality + the energy utility + the water-sewage/solid waste company. At the second level, a Shaffer analysis shows general harmony among the operations of each organization.  In particular, the MPH provides value-for-money rentals within the municipality and helps tenants turn their flats into homes. Additionally, continued appreciation of its base assets and apparent economies of scale were instrumental in the success of the operations at the tactical level. Insofar as the Swedish public housing model is undergoing a shift to be more “business-like”, this study indicates how the model successfully works at the individual company level. Because there are certain commonalities with other organizations in public management, observations may be relevant in their successful operations.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Swedish Housing

Municipal Public Housing

Business Models

Case Study

företagsekonomi

Business Studies

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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