The Sociology of Innovation: Organizational,Environmental, and Relative Perspectives

Innovation is risky. New products and firms are subject to high failure rates. To minimize the risk associated with innovation, most scholars agree that firms should engage simultaneously in two types of activities: exploring new alternatives and exploiting existing competencies. Firms that simultaneously engage in explorative and exploitative activities are called ambidextrous organizations. Research on ambidextrous organizations, however, inadequately considers the importance of the environment in which organizations operate for innovation success. The sociological view of innovation fills this gap by emphasizing the importance of social context for explaining innovative outcomes. The sociology of innovation highlights, first, the structural arrangements – characteristics of social networks, organizations, and institutions – that influence innovation and, second, the relative nature of innovation – whether an object is considered novel depends on one's vantage point. Drawing on the relative view of innovation, I develop a typology that outlines several paths to innovation with respect to two vantage points: the organization and the environment. I argue that minimizing the risks associated with innovation is most likely to occur when firms follow the path of innovation that consists of generating novel solutions that simultaneously exploit knowledge and resources that are both available to the firm and in the firm's environment.     

Durkheim's Dilemma: Toward a Sociology of Emergence

The concept of emergence is a central thread uniting Durkheim's theoretical and empirical work, yet this aspect of Durkheim's work has been neglected. I reinterpret Durkheim in light of theories of emergence developed by contemporary philosophers of mind, and I show that Durkheim's writings prefigure many elements of these contemporary theories. Reading Durkheim as an emergentist helps to clarify several difficult and confusing aspects of his work, and reveals a range of unresolved issues. I identify five such issues, and I show how Durkheim's writings on emergence suggest potential responses.     

Sex,Sacredness, and Structure: Contributions to the Sociology of Collective Dreams

The article starts with a metaphoric and rhetorical use of the dream concept and then deals with collective dreams. Borrowing ideas from Freud, Durkheim, and Levi-Strauss, concepts are developed to describe collective dreams, for example, the American Dream. I demonstrate that binary oppositions, such as Durkheim's “sacred versus profane” distinction, structure collective dreams. Different forms of symbolic operation are described.     

Sociology Hesitant: The Continuing Neglect of W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois’ early work as a sociologist from 1896 to 1914 represents a milestone in the development of modern sociology. His empirical studies often employed a triangular methodological approach, and by grounding The Philadelphia Negro in what is the earliest extensive social survey by an American sociologist, Du Bois set the stage for the growth of sociology as a legitimate science. In fact, his approach became the model that the discipline eventually followed. Had Du Bois been white, he would have been recognized as a leading founder of the field. Since Du Bois’ early sociological scholarship was completed during the height of the Jim Crow era, his brilliant landmark work was largely negated by the profession. His scholarly accomplishments clearly focused on establishing a scientific sociology. Based on his exemplary work, can sociology finally negate the sociological negation of W.E.B. Du Bois?     

David R. Maines: Embedding Symbolic Interactionism at the Heart of Sociology

David R. Maines was a key founder of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, and a champion of symbolic interactionist sociology. Maines fought against characterizations of symbolic interactionism as astructural and “subjectivist.” He was adamant that symbolic interactionism offered vital perspectives on the study of social structure and organization, and that it was compatible with a variety of research methods. He played a vital role in developing narrative sociology and bringing narrative scholarship from communication studies to sociological audiences. In this retrospective on his life and career, I detail what Maines saw as the five central features of symbolic interactionism: (1) interpretation and meaning, (2) communication, (3) temporality and process, (4) agency, and (5) dialectical thinking. I then examine four interrelated themes of Maines' sociological contributions: (1) temporality, (2) debunking myths about interactionism, (3) mesostructure, and (4) narrative sociology. A video abstract is available at https://youtu.be/YodjvXbo51Q .     

John Hinckley, Jr. and the Insanity Defense: The Public's Verdict

Public furor over the Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity verdictin the trial of John Hinckley, Jr. already has stimulated legalchanges in the insanity defense. This study documents more systematicallythe dimensions of negative public opinion concerning the Hinckleyverdict. A survey of Delaware residents shortly after the trial'sconclusion indicated that the verdict was perceived as unfair,Hinckley was viewed as not insane, the psychiatrists' testimonyat the trial was not trusted, and the vast majority thoughtthat the insanity defense was a loophole. However, survey respondentswere unable to define the legal test for insanity and thoughtHinckley would be confined only a short period of time, contraryto the estimates of experts. These findings, in conjunctionwith other research showing the public is not well informedabout the insanity defense, underscore the importance of examiningdeterminants of opinion about the insanity defense before additionalreform is undertaken.     

Robert E. Park and the Chicago School of Sociology: A Centennial Tribute*

Bien qu'il semble plus près de nous qu'eux, Robert Park, né en 1864, etait contemporain de Durkheim, Simmel et Weber. Nonobstant le mythe si répandu au sujet de l'école de Chicago en sociologie, Park ne fit pas qu'accumuler des données empiriques sur les problèmes sociaux à Chicago; il fut un théoricien d'une valeur exceptionnelle, bien au fait de la science sociale europeienne et profondément intéressé au côte humaniste en sociologie. Avec certains collègues, dont feu Robert Redfield, il partagea ou leur communiqua une perspective qui, d'une part, s'est avérée d'une importance théorique vitale et qui, d'autre part, a été des plus fructueuses dans la recherche. La lecture de son ôeuvre est toujours profitable et agréable.     

The Practice of Group Work,Edited by William Schwartz and Serapio R. Zalba. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971. 284 Pages, $10.00 Hardbound

A study of teaching methods for the first graduate course in social work research is reported in this paper. Three approaches involving different levels of student responsibility were compared in terms of their ability to increase the critical assessment abilities of students, their attitudes toward research and the course, and their assessments of the instructor. It was found that the differing methods had effects on all the variables except that concerning students' attitudes toward research. Considering the variables here under study, a lecture/student presentation approach was judged most productive of the three methods of instruction     

Look Who's Talking: Compositional Effects of Gender and Status on Verbal Contributions at Sociology Conferences

Making a verbal contribution is an efficient means to increase one's visibility in the academic job market. Therefore, we examine the duration and word density of spoken contributions made in debates at sociology conferences held in Germany, thus enriching the discussion on the gender gap in scientific careers. We differentiate between the contributors' age and gender, and the social context of the conferences. Hidden observation of 392 verbal contributions on 64 topics at five different conferences using hierarchical linear models shows that with increasing age, women speak more slowly and for longer, while the duration of verbal contributions of men rises up to the age of 53 and then decreases again. Contrary to our hypothesis, the duration of spoken contributions of men is not longer than that of women; in fact if there is a majority of female associate or full professors in the audience, contributions by women become significantly longer. This finding underlines the importance of social context for gender‐related features of communication. In addition, we find that word density depends on the age and gender of the speaker.