At CVL management technology is about the interaction between people, organisation, values, resources, systematics and information as a means of developing new types of management competences. Directions for this exist on the market's supplied 'management-packages'. Management technologies represent the most sophisticated theoretical and practical knowledge in the management field. The general notion is that management is established through specific methodical approaches which can indicate 'how to do'. Common practice, however, shows that the implementation of the 'management-packages' requires a specific 'unpacking' of the technology in the concrete reality. This unpacking is often difficult as the businesses are also controlled by other values, motives, logics and routines than those which are conceived and 'wrapped' in the methods specified by the management technologies.

In CVL the specific 'unpacking' in the businesses is the base and starting-point of the research. We will investigate: What will happen when businesses choose to use a system-solution or a management-concept? The starting-point of CVL is that the concrete unpacking in conjunction with the implementation and usage must be able to restore the underlying visions and ideas as a support and focal point for the management. Hence, the term management technology is a mantra in our research.

One of the main theses is that a large number of the management technologies, existing on the market, are developed from the perspective of the Industrial Society's mentality and management form (structure, productivity, stability, hierarchy, top-down, control, standardisation, regulation etc.). Nevertheless, these management technologies do not completely live up to fulfil the managerial demand (process, flexibility, network, learning, knowledge-development, self-reflection) of the Knowledge Society.

Hence, it is also the mission of the centre to contribute to a development of knowledge, which can found the basis of new management technologies adapted to the Knowledge Society and the Scandinavian management tradition.