Archives mensuelles : janvier 2026

Rethinking the Third Mission: Organizing dissonance in transformative universities

Gesa Pflitsch & Max-Peter Menzel (2026)

Research Policy, 55, online first

Abstract. Universities increasingly engage in sustainability transitions through Third Mission (TM) activities that confront “wicked” problems and conflicting value systems. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that explains how TM contributes to transformative change by placing value collisions at its analytical core. Drawing on Convention Theory, we distinguish two knowledge processes: equivalence-oriented processes that seek efficiency and alignment, and dissonance-oriented processes that deliberately engage divergent values. Crucially, we conceptualize dissonance not as a barrier but as a generative driver of transformation, making its organization a core task of transformative TM. Using this perspective, we assess which organizational forms and governance arrangements enable transformation by sustaining dissonance, identifying heterarchy and an intermediate space between academia and society as central. This delineation sets transformative universities apart from other models and yields far-reaching implications for TM-related policy mixes and impact assessment.

Extract: “To this end, we deliberately move beyond conceptual frameworks that integrate value dynamics into knowledge processes, such as learning-oriented approaches (e.g., Stam et al., 2023). Instead, we draw on Convention Theory (Boltanski and Thévenot, 2006; Diaz-Bone, 2018; Stark, 2009), which foregrounds value systems and the conflicts that arise between them. Convention Theory has been applied in domains characterized by shifting value systems (Boltanski and Chiapello, 2005; Lafaye and Thévenot, 2017; Menzel, 2023), by conflicts between competing values (Boltanski and Thévenot, 1999), or by forms of coordination that differ by their underlying values (Ponte and Sturgeon, 2014; Stark, 2009; Storper and Salais, 1997). In particular, we adopt Stark’s (2009) concept of dissonance, which conceptualizes the collision of competing value systems not as an impediment but as a generative force for innovation. We use this to conceptualize a shift toward dissonance as a central knowledge process in transformative TM, to explore how dissonance can be organized, and how its productive use may serve as a transformative driver.” (p. 2)

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Une approche sociologique sur les pratiques enseignantes : la construction de la notion d’« épreuve socialisatrice » à partir de la sociologie critique et la sociologie de la critique

A sociological approach to teaching practices: constructing the concept of “socializing test” based on critical sociology and the sociology of criticism

Gabriela Valente (2025)

SociologieS, open access

Résumé. L’objectif de cet article est de proposer une réflexion théorique sur l’apport de la sociologie critique et de la sociologie de la critique aux études en sociologie de l’éducation. L’hypothèse est que, malgré des différences et des similitudes, les deux théories permettent de comprendre sociologiquement les pratiques humaines et, en particulier, les pratiques enseignantes. Plus spécifiquement, ces deux approches sociologiques sont présentées en fonction de leur compréhension de l’action et de la conduite humaine, afin de proposer ensuite une articulation favorable à l’analyse des pratiques professionnelles, dans notre cas, des enseignants. Nous concluons que les deux courants sociologiques offrent des outils théoriques et méthodologiques pour réaliser des études en sociologie de l’éducation qui s’intéressent à la complexité de l’action enseignante.

Abstract. The objective of this article is to propose a theoretical reflection on the contribution of critical sociology and the sociology of critique to studies in the sociology of education. The hypothesis is that, despite their differences and similarities, both theories provide a sociological understanding of human practices, particularly teaching practices. More specifically, these two sociological approaches are presented in relation to their understanding of human action and conduct, in order to propose a framework that facilitates the analysis of professional practices —in this case, those of teachers. We conclude that both sociological perspectives offer theoretical and methodological tools for conducting studies in the sociology of education that address the complexity of teaching practices.

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Research quality conventions. A guide for good quality empirical research

Christian Schneijderberg, Oliver Wieczorek & Isabel Steinhardt (2026)

Chapter 4 of: Schneijderberg, Christian/Wieczorek, Oliver/Steinhardt, Isabel (eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis. London: Routledge. Open access, pp. 61-104

Abstract. This chapter introduces the “substantive methods concept” (Schneijderberg, 2023 (https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-24.3.3994)) for good quality research and provides a step-by-step guide for the entire research process from initial observation to conclusions by focusing on research design, data collection and processing, and analysis and interpretation. The substantive methods concept – composed of discovery, appropriateness-transparency, and iteration and distancing quality conventions – guides deductive, theory-led and inductive, theory-reflexive approaches to research as well as qualitative small and quantitative big data analysis. In addition to differences associated with different methods, the three quality conventions respect particular aspects of data collection and data type (see Chapter 3). For example, ethnographic observations are documented in field notes by researchers, and interviews are conducted according to a manual guiding the interactive communication between two or more subjects. We believe that all particularities (e.g., data collection and processing) of qualitative methods can be addressed by the discovery, appropriateness-transparency, and iteration and distancing quality conventions. The substantive methods concept can also integrate quality conventions specifying methods for data collected by surveys, quantitative data processing, and statistical analysis. Of course, epistemology, that is, how scientific knowledge is created, and methodology, that is, the logical process of applying a method or methods, differ between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research – but not the basic research process.

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Convention Theory, Economy, and Space

Rainer Diaz-Bone (2025)

Historical Social Research, 50(4), pp. 46-68

Abstract. The article presents the approach of economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC, in short, convention theory) and its perspectives on the link of economic coordination and space. EC/SC is an interdisciplinary and international scientific movement, and it can be conceived of as being a core part of new French neopragmatism. Convention theory regards conventions as institutional logics actors rely on for economic coordination. Convention can also be understood as shared frames for the interpretation and valorization of goods, persons, or actions. This article introduces the main concepts of convention theory and presents studies which apply EC/SC’s perspective on economic coordination in different branches. In difference to other institutionalist approaches, convention theory approaches coordination processes which can have a huge range in time and especially in space. Coordination can last for decades and can have a regional, national, or global spatial extension. In sum, EC/SC links economic coordination to space and focuses on the spatially organized processes of valorization and economic enrichment.

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Composer avec les conventions dans la décision stratégique

Dealing with conventions in strategic decision-making

Thierry Verstraete (2025)

Bordeaux: Les Éditions de l’ADREG. Open access

Résumé. Les organisations finalisées évoluent au sein d’écosystèmes traversés par des attentes hétérogènes, des valeurs parfois concurrentes et des règles plus ou moins explicites. Dans ces contextes complexes, la réflexion stratégique ne peut se limiter à l’analyse concurrentielle ou à la mobilisation d’outils standardisés. Elle engage, en cette période de transitions, un travail accru en matière d’appréciation, d’interprétation et de composition entre les conventions cadrant la coordination des acteurs. Cet essai propose de considérer ces conventions comme une clé de lecture centrale pour la prise de décision stratégique. L’ouvrage ne vise pas à prescrire des solutions, mais à rendre visibles les appuis et les tensions à considérer. À cette fin, l’essai prépare le terrain pour la conception d’un outil d’identification et d’analyse des conventions à visée heuristique, sans se substituer ni au jugement ni à l’expérience des acteurs. Il offre un cadre d’analyse mobilisable dans des situations marquées par l’équivocité. Le texte porte une thèse forte : l’analyse conventionnelle mérite d’être considérée comme aussi fondamentale que l’analyse concurrentielle. Il s’adresse aux enseignants-chercheurs et aux étudiants en management et en entrepreneuriat, ainsi qu’aux praticiens soucieux de comprendre les ressorts conventionnels de leurs décisions. Il s’inscrit dans la lignée des travaux pensant la stratégie comme un travail réflexif de construction de sens, au croisement de la théorie et de la pratique.

Abstract. Purpose-driven organizations operate within ecosystems shaped by heterogeneous expectations, sometimes competing values, and more or less explicit rules. In such complex contexts, strategic reflection cannot be reduced to competitive analysis or to the use of standardized tools. It requires sustained work of appraisal, interpretation, and composition among the conventions that frame actors’ coordination. This essay proposes to consider conventions as a central analytical lens for strategic decision-making. It does not aim to prescribe solutions, but to make visible the supports and tensions that need to be taken into account. To this end, it prepares the ground for the design of a heuristic tool for identifying and analyzing conventions, without substituting for actors’ judgment or experience. The text advances a strong claim: conventional analysis deserves to be considered as fundamental as competitive analysis. It addresses scholars and students in management and entrepreneurship, as well as practitioners concerned with understanding the conventional underpinnings of strategic decision-making. It is situated within a body of work that conceives strategy as a reflexive process of sense construction, at the intersection of theory and practice.

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Institutionalizing inclusion in higher education. A comparative study of universities in Germany and Luxembourg

Vera Moser, Justin J.W. Powell, Nicolas Engel, Sophie Abend & Lena Wolf (2025)

Alter, 19(4). Open access, pp. 31-51

Abstract. Investigating the institutionalization of inclusive higher education, the study focuses on how such policies and programs have evolved in Germany and Luxembourg. Embedded in transnational discourses on academic excellence, democracy, and inclusion, the latter bolstered by global ratification of human rights charters (UN-CRPD), the analysis draws on neo-institutionalist theory and the sociology of values to examine the on-going tension between universities’ commitments to academic excellence and their obligations to recognize diversity and to promote equity, justice, and inclusion. While diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs refer to human rights, they often serve as part of strategies to bolster university reputations in competitive markets. Increasingly worldwide, contemporary political backlash has challenged the legitimacy and scope of DEI agendas. Raising questions about (de)institutionalization dynamics, we compare three research universities – Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and the Université du Luxembourg – through document analysis of DEI strategies and programs. These publicly funded organizations represent varying models of university governance. While these research universities have adopted DEI frameworks, the extent and orientation differ, shaped by organizational type and age, national and local context, and strategic priorities. The findings contribute to our understanding of persistent competing logics and values of excellence and inclusion in higher education.

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Energy Markets and Conventions

Max-Peter Menzel (2026)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. This chapter examines energy markets through the lens of economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC or convention theory), focusing on key concepts such as orders of worth (particularly the green convention), investment in forms, and conventions of the state. It draws on the socio-technical systems framework to contextualize energy markets within broader structural dynamics, including the energy regime, organizational forms, and modes of energy production: EC/SC’s studies of the energy regime highlight historical trajectories and shifts, especially the transition from fossil fuels to renewables; EC/SC’s studies on energy markets explore their social construction, showing how conventions are institutionalized through investments in forms such as laws, standards, and policies, and how shifts in state conventions reshape market structures; EC/SC’s studies on organizations reveal how changing dominant conventions influence organizational behavior and foster new forms aligned with sustainability. The studies of energy production in the field of convention theory underscore the contestation between fossil and renewable sources and the role of conventions rooted at different geographical scales. In sum, EC/SC offers a nuanced understanding of how social norms and values shape the social construction of energy markets and energy transitions. In doing so, this chapter emphasizes processes of testing and contestation as central drivers of transformative change.

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Convergence of John R. Commons and economics of convention toward the theory of social inquiry into reasonable values

Christian Bessy & Kota Kitagawa (2026)

Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Online first

Abstract. This text explores how John R. Commons’s Institutional Economics (IE) and Economics of Convention (EC) frame basic concepts to understand institutional evolution and how they draw and analyze the historical evolution on employment relationships. It presents three issues to compare them: the double meanings of common goods, endogenous changes in institutions, the intermediaries promoting the changes. Both approaches on historical changes of employment relationship are compared. In particular, EC has developed works showing how legal intermediaries promote individualization of employment relationship in modern France. Especially, this approach argues linkage between employment relationship fragmentation and financial dynamics. After, with assistance from the issues of EC, the IE approach of intermediaries is clarified by enhancing the collective dimension of employment relationship in the interwar era of the U.S. Commons saw a link between employment and financial dynamics in his policy proposal. In conclusion, the text confirms the convergence of the IE and the EC toward an institutional change approach. This will be seen not only in their basic issues but also in, more fundamentally, their presumption of socio-economists’s pragmatic position and thus their research program. This current trend can be expressed as their convergence toward the theory of social inquiry into reasonable values.

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Towards the (Re)Making of Public Space?

Simon Susen (2026)

Berlin Journal of Critical Theory, 10(1). Open access

Abstract. This article provides a critical analysis of Luc Boltanski and Arnaud Esquerre’s The Making of Public Space: News, Events and Opinions in the Twenty-First Century (2025 [2022]). While their earlier work, Enrichment: A Critique of Commodities (2020 [2017]), is situated within economic sociology, their latest book – originally published as Qu’est-ce que l’actualité politique? Événements et opinions au XXIe siècle (2022) – marks a significant shift towards political sociology, broadly conceived. The article contends that The Making of Public Space represents a highly original contribution that will further consolidate the considerable influence of Boltanski and Esquerre’s collaborative work on cutting-edge debates and research agendas in the contemporary social sciences. In particular, the book makes a strong case for examining the relationship between processes of ‘turning into current affairs’ [processus de mise en actualité] and processes of politicization [processus de politisation]. The analysis is structured in two main parts. The first part summarizes the central arguments advanced by Boltanski and Esquerre in The Making of Public Space. The second part offers a careful assessment of the book’s principal limitations and suggests possible ways to address them.

Extract. “Given the thematic focus of their study, it is not surprising that the concept of public space [espace public] is central to Boltanski and Esquerre’s investigation. The two authors make it clear, however, that their analysis is not founded on a ‘normative definition of public space’ or attached to a particular political philosophy. Rather, their approach is inspired by the bottom-up spirit of the ‘pragmatic sociology of critique’. In accordance with this outlook, Boltanski and Esquerre are committed to shedding light on ‘the implicit notions underlying the competences that people draw on in order to act’ when navigating everyday life. Far from treating these competencies as transcendental faculties, removed from the experiential realms of spatiotemporal contingencies, Boltanski and Esquerre regard them as ‘historically and socially situated ontologies’.” (p. 8)

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2026

Since March 2017 the blog has published 2000 posts, informing about publications, conferences/workshops/events, PhDs/habilitations and interviews with scholars in the field.
– 1691 posts about publications
– 157 posts about Theses, PhD and Dissertations
– 49 conference or seminar reports
– 35 interviews or videos
– 68 other