Abstract
National identification persists in a 'globalizing' world. In this article, we focus on the linguistic aspects of the relations between military and business management, particularly in relation to 'Finnishness'. We attempt to locate discourses drawn on when 'good' management and leadership are (re)constructed in Finland. In the studied texts, a particular, and arguably a significant, image of Finnish management emerges. This masculinist image of sturdy, situation-conscious management-by-example draws explicitly from military management, and seems to live on in different contexts. In addition to discursively /re)constructing its uniqueness and functionality, this omage lives on in comparison to 'others'. Swedishness and 'Swedish management' seems to provide a recurring object of comparison through which Finnishness and 'Finnish management' attains its meanings. We argue that 'Finnish management' can be understood as a discursive resource that actors can flexibly utilize in context-specific social interaction. This may have significant power-related implications