In our research, we have investigated the influence of tall- and flat organizational structures on authentic leadership in the Swedish- and German context. The research was approached by the systems view and the data were analysed through Grounded Theory. Our aim was to research in which dimension authentic leadership is enabled or restricted to a larger extent – tall- or flat organizations. We discovered that authentic leadership can be performed in both, however it might be more or less encouraged. Hierarchical structures could be seen as a tool for performing authentic leadership – which we were able to confirm in the German context. While flat organizational structures could enable leaders and followers to act according to their true inner selves as well – which we were able to observe in the Swedish context. Interesting differences between tall- and flat organizational structures in Sweden and Germany were observed in terms of authentic leadership performance.

Syftet med denna studie är att förstå hur fenomenet platthet fungerar och upplevs i organisationer samt att få en ökad förståelse för självorganisering och formella och informella strukturer i icke-hierarkiska organisationer. En experimentell fenomenologisk studie gjordes på svenska platta organisationer med kriteriet få eller inga mellannivåer av chefer. Metoden som användes var en metodkombination där gruppintervjuer och djupintervjuer kombinerades. Totalt intervjuades åtta antal personer på företagen där en semistrukturerad intervjuguide användes som baserades på Jo Freemans essä The Tyranny of structurelessness från 1970. Det empiriska materialet kategoriserades senare genom en tematisk innehållsanalys och analyserades genom tre ansatser för att kunna identifiera och beskriva hur företagen var platta. Resultatet och analysen visade att de två företagen kunde anses vara platta på olika sätt. Andra fynd var att konceptet platt är komplext där olika faktorer samspelar med varandra. Vidare forskning bör fokusera på om det är organisationen som initierar platthet eller om rätt individer väljs in i en organisation och gör den platt. Vidare forskning kan också fokusera på intersektionalitet och hur identitet och makt samspelar i en platt organisation för att främja demokratisk deltagarmakt. / The purpose of this study is to understand how the phenomenon of flatness works and is experienced in organizations and to gain an increased understanding of self-organization and formal and informal structures in non-hierarchical organizations. An experimental phenomenological study was conducted on two flat organizations in Sweden with the criterion of few or no middle levels of managers. The method used was a method combination where group interviews and in-depth interviews were combined. A total of eight people were interviewed at the companies where a semi-structured interview guide based on Jo Freeman's essay The Tyranny of structurelessness from 1970 were used. The empirical material was later categorized through a thematic content analysis and analyzed through three approaches to be able to identify and describe how the companies were flat. The result and the analysis showed that the two companies could be considered flat in different ways. Other findings were that the concept flat is complex where different factors interact with each other. Further research should focus on whether it is the organization that initiates flatness or whether the right individuals are selected into an organization and make it flat. Further research can also focus on intersectionality and how identity and power interact in a flat organization to promote democratic participation.