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Anne Mette Møller

Associate Professor

Emner
Ledelse Offentlig forvaltning Organisation Digitalisering Kvalitativ metode Velfærd

Primary research areas

Frontline work and street-level bureaucracy

Frontline professionals and managers in public organizations work every day to provide public services such as healthcare, schooling, eldercare, and child welfare. I study how they make things work, including how they navigate a complex web of policy goals, professional norms, and citizen needs and expectations.

Professional knowledge and practice

I study how frontline professionals in public organizations exercise professional judgment, including how different forms of knowledge are mobilized in practice, as well as broader questions around the nature of research utilization, the impact of scholarly knowledge on practice, and ideals such as evidence-based policy and practice.

Leadership of frontline professionals

Frontline work involves many challenges, including professional uncertainty, difficult prioritizations, moral dilemmas, and emotional strain. I seek to develop an understanding of how relational and collective forms of leadership can mitigate these challenges and enable frontline professionals to carry out their work in the best possible way.

Policy implementation and translation

Policy does not implement itself. I study how abstract policy is enacted in practice through encounters between citizens and the state, including how policy goals (e.g., evidence-based practice) or management ideas (e.g., the Buurtzorg model in eldercare) are translated into practice, and how frontline workers’ discretionary decisions shape policy-as-practiced.

Digitalization

Digitalization is transforming the public sector, reshaping forms and practices of service delivery and interactions between citizens and the state. This is not a new development b. I study how policy implementation and public service delivery is shaped by a continuous layering of digital technologies in daily practice.

Qualitative and interpretive methodology

My research is predominantly based on qualitative and interpretive methodologies, including organizational ethnography, qualitative interviewing, abductive analysis, and practice-based theorizing. I teach qualitative methods on all levels and have published a textbook and several chapters on qualitative methodology.

I explore how people make public policy work in practice

I study professional knowledge and decision-making, public leadership, and policy implementation to understand how public professionals and managers make public policy work in practice – and how leadership may enable frontline workers to mitigate challenges associated with their work: professional discretion, the need for prioritization, and moral dilemmas and emotional strain that arise from interactions with citizens.  

I teach and supervise on all levels, including executive education. I strive to combine academic excellence with practical relevance and societal impact. I am affiliated with the CBS Leadership Center, King Frederik Center for Public Leadership, and VIVE – The Danish National Center for Social Science Research. I engage directly with stakeholders through keynotes, workshops, and leadership seminars. 

I received the Inge Lehmann grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) in 2023 and was appointed CBS Executive Fonden Chair of Leadership & Organization in 2024. 

Recent research projects

Record Keeping in Frontline Work

Case records are integral to professional work. This project explores how frontline professionals navigate administrative, professional, and relational purposes of record-keeping in practice.
Read project summary

Organizing knowledge and decision-making

Motivated by debates over evidence-based practice, this PhD thesis explores when and how is knowledge mobilized to inform decision-making and professional judgment in street-level organizations
PhD thesis summary and free download

Outside activities

Affiliated Researcher, VIVE, 2023–present

I collaborate with experts from VIVE – The Danish National Center for Social Science Research on selected projects
Learn more about VIVE

Affiliated Researcher, King Frederik’s Center for Public Leadership, 2023–present

I collaborate with King Frederik’s Center for Public Leadership to create and share knowledge about public leadership
King Frederik Center for Public Leadership

Leadership workshops and seminars, 2018–present

I regularly conduct workshops and seminars on leadership development and other topics for municipalities, educational institutions, etc.

Keynotes, talks, presentations, 2018–present

I have given keynotes on, e.g., knowledge mobilization, digitalization, and leadership of frontline professionals