Performance and risk management in strategic cooperation : A comparative study of business and military sectors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if business practices for performance through risk control methods can be applied by defence forces in peace missions called for by the United Nations (UN) in order to improve the efficiency of such missions. Design/methodology/approach – Extensive studies of existing theories on business cooperation risk control were performed as well as studies of the organizational and legal structures for Swedish participation in international military missions. These studies were followed by interviews with politicians and military officers of high ranks regarding cooperation in such missions and the interviews were analyzed with respect to the theoretical methods and their validity for the military sector. Findings – The authors' conclusion is that an adoption of some of the existing business risk control management methods could improve the efficiency of military risk management. The first step in such organizational knowledge transfer is to improve the form for and the formulation of more stringent objectives for the military mission. Originality/value – The study indicates how the performance of international peace missions can be improved by application of risk control methods from the business sector.