drivkraft

Drivkraft is a Swedish noun that denotes the driving force or motive behind actions, decisions, or processes. It refers to a factor—internal or external—that motivates, sustains, or propels change. The term is used across disciplines and in everyday language to describe what energizes a person, organization, or system to move forward.

Derived from driv- “to drive” and kraft “force,” drivkraft forms the basis for related terms such as drivkrafter (plural) and phrases describing growth drivers, motivational forces, or driving mechanisms in various contexts.

In psychology, drivkraft refers to a person’s motivation. In business and economics, it denotes growth drivers such as innovation, demand, or efficiency improvements. In policy and society, drivkrafter explain prevailing trends like urbanization or digitalization. In engineering and the sciences, it denotes a physical force that causes motion or transfer, such as a pressure difference driving fluid flow or a chemical potential gradient driving diffusion.