Globalization and the German model of capitalism – erosion or survival?

The German business system has been regarded as a particularly tightly coupled system, with embeddedness of even multinational companies (MNCs) in their home base as particularly deep. A study of the impact of companies' changing internationalization, if not globalization, strategies is therefore especially suited to test competing claims about their effects on the German business system. Are we experiencing an erosion of this system, an adaptation in a largely path‐dependent way, or even a greater specialization and stronger crystallization of the German business system? To investigate these questions, the paper examines a small number of German MNCs in their domestic and international context. More particularly, the work focuses on whether and how their emergent globalization activities affect the reproduction or erosion of the three institutional complexes which shape the factors of production: the financial system; the innovation system; and the industrial relations system. The paper concludes that a new type of transformation – hybridization – is emerging. It is regarded as a consequence of German companies' growing integration into a global economic system.     

Exploring the roles of government involvement and institutional environments in the internationalization of Chinese Internet companies

The interactions between government, institutions, and Internet companies have gained attention in the research on the globalization of China’s Internet. However, few studies have been conducted at the company level, and the knowledge about the roles of government and institutions remains limited. Drawing on institutional theory, this empirical study explored the roles and mechanisms of government involvement and the institutional environment in the internationalization of Chinese Internet companies. The results indicated that government involvement could improve these companies’ degree of international breadth through both state ownership and governmental affiliation. However, the results showed that state ownership had a restraining function on their degree of international depth. In the context of institutional transition in China, these effects could vary according to whether Internet companies operate in good or poor institutional environments. By revealing these relationships, this study contributes to both the theoretical and the empirical understanding of governmental influence and institutional roots in the globalization of China’s Internet.     

Science and neoliberal globalization: a political sociological approach

The political ideology of neoliberalism is widely recognized as having influenced the organization of national and global economies and public policies since the 1970s. In this article, we examine the relationship between the neoliberal variant of globalization and science. To do so, we develop a framework for sociology of science that emphasizes closer ties among political sociology, the sociology of social movements, and economic and organizational sociology and that draws attention to patterns of increasing and uneven industrial influence amid several countervailing processes. Specifically, we explore three fundamental changes since the 1970s: the advent of the knowledge economy and the increasing interchange between academic and industrial research and development signified by academic capitalism and asymmetric convergence; the increasing prominence of science-based regulation of technology in global trade liberalization, marked by the heightened role of international organizations and the convergence of scientism and neoliberalism; and the epistemic modernization of the relationship between scientists and publics, represented by the proliferation of new institutions of deliberation, participation, activism, enterprise, and social movement mobilization.     

Zwei Dimensionen der Internationalisierung: Eine empirische Analyse deutscher Grossunternehmen

In order to analyze the impact of internationalization on national institutions, methods of measuring the degree of internationalization are required. The article presents a method for measuring the degree of internationalization of firms. We assume that the internationalization of firms has several dimensions which cannot be combined into one index, and therefore, have to be distinguished. The first dimension refers to the production activities of firms abroad; the second is measured by the proximity of the firm to international capital. Using a group of the 100 largest German companies both dimensions are empirically tested. Factor analysis supports the assumption that both dimensions, the product-oriented and the financial dimension, do not co-vary and can be separated. Using the measurements we can rank firms into higher and lower degrees of internationalization.     

BSE as an organizational construction: a case study on the globalization of risk

This article examines the BSE problem as an example of the 'globalization of risk'. In order to determine whether the 'globalization of risk' is a social construction depending on the context, the paper emphasizes the particular role of organizations. It makes an empirical comparison of the BSE-related risk-constructions of five business associations in the German meat industry sector. The results show that the associations construct the risk in close relation to their horizons of globalization, thereby reflecting provision problems, which the companies they are representing face. While the main organizational domains in the sector tried to cope with the risk problem by different means of local market 'closure', one association, founded in reaction to the BSE problem, took over a 'reflexive' role with regard to the emerging risk communication on BSE in Germany.     

Diversity Management in der Organisationsberatung

Each individual is (in some respect) similar to many, few or no other person. Diversity deals with this individuality i.e. with differences and similarities between people. In the light of internationalization, diversity has become a main interest area of organizations. Diversity Management is a strategic approach which uses individual abilities, experiences, competencies and qualifications as special success factors in companies. It is however, for many companies and managers, a real challenge to overcome mono-cultural thinking, prejudices and the reluctance to change. They need help from specialized diversity consultants.     

Religion und Gesellschaft – Aktuelle Perspektiven

Increasing public attention to religious questions has in the past years re-invigorated the sociology of religion. As an introduction to the present special issue we outline some institutional and intellectual developments of German language sociology of religion since the post-war period. We furthermore highlight five current trends of the subdiscipline that pertain to the concept of religion, to debates over secularization, to methodological questions of sociological explanation, to interdisciplinary research on religions under conditions of globalization, and to the refinement of quantitative as well as qualitative research methods. Having argued that these trends attest to an increasingly global-comparative approach, we conclude with some research perspectives for future sociology of religion.     

Japanese Sociology in a Global Network. Internationalization,Disciplinary Development,and Minority Integration in the Road Ahead

The dual trajectories of Japanese sociology and Japan itself are poised at a watershed moment in their shared history. In recent years, Japanese sociology has enlarged its international presence in unprecedented fashion and the Tokyo Olympics have positioned the global spotlight on the entire nation of Japan, making it an opportune moment to reflect on the future of Japanese sociology in connection to Japanese society by way of internationalization. This article draws on the author's reflections on the latest 92nd Japan Sociological Society Annual Conference in the context of recent socio‐structural and intellectual transformations in counterpart sociological cultures in Anglo‐America. Drawing on three theorizations of disciplinary development by Abbott, Connell, and Burawoy, this article articulates two dimensions (socio‐structural and intellectual) with which to examine (i) what Japanese sociology can contribute to improve the internationalization decolonization, and pluralization of global sociology; and (ii) what global sociology can do to advance Japanese sociology's public contribution to improving and preserving LGBTQ minorities' societal well‐being.     

Responses to globalization: Indian perspectives

India has a long tradition in influencing and participating to the globalization processes. Three phases can be distinguished in India’s history:

1. Colonial period up to 1947
2. Nation building through government policies from 1947 to 1990, and
3. The era of liberalization since 1991.

Like any ancient civilization, India has responded to the forces of globalization and has experienced both continuity and change. In the current phase, globalization is experiences a two-way scheme: while multinational companies are entering India, many Indian companies have a clear ambition to “take India to the world”. Given the number and diversity of Indian organizations, all approaches and interventions of OD have been already used. Family enterprises and the government have played a central role in shaping the Indian answer to globalization. Developing a global mindset is India’s major challenge for the future.     

Deepening the divide: Does globalization increase the polarization between winners and losers of globalization?

Does globalization increase polarization in attitudes toward international trade, immigration, and international organizations? Research from a variety of fields and disciplines assumes this relationship, but empirical studies are few. In this study, I examine whether globalization increases the attitudinal divide between education groups, with education being one of the main characteristics of social stratification distinguishing winners from losers of globalization. I use data from three waves of the National Identity Module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) from 1995 to 2013 covering 29 countries (n = 79,101) to analyze between- and within-country interactions between the level of globalization and education in explaining attitudes toward globalization. The results show that while the attitudinal divide between educational groups is larger in countries with higher levels of globalization (between effect), polarization decreases as the level of globalization increases within countries (within effect), as persons with lower and medium levels of education become more positive toward globalization under increasing levels of globalization. The results are consistent across a wide range of robustness checks, including controlling for occupational class as a further distinction between winners and losers of globalization. The findings suggest that the expectations about a widening attitudinal divide between winners and losers of globalization should be treated with more caution.     

Who is Who? Die Sozialstruktur der Soziologie-Professorenschaft in Deutschland

Against the background of existing patterns of recruitment within academics the article deals with the socio-structural composition of the professors in the field of sociology. The basis is a full survey of professors at departments of sociology at German universities and a number of selected research institutes. The parameters of interest are the share of female professors, the share of foreign professors, the social background of professors in terms of coming from East or West Germany and the age distribution. In order to capture changes over time, we differentiate the data according to birth cohorts. All in all with the exception of the feminization of the profession we find a great structural stability of the composition of sociology professors, which indicates the ongoing dominance of specific pattern of recruitment. In particular the inclusion of East Germans and the internationalization of the professorial personal have not advanced.     

Die stille Umverteilung

During the last decades income inequality has risen again in western societies. Whereas empirical indicators and statistical data show in detail the changes in income distribution, sociology has no adequate knowledge about the corresponding micro-level motives. The globalization of value chains, technological change, the increasing occupational participation of women, the decline of union participation and tax reform are considered to be the main factors relevant for the increase in income inequality. It is shown that these variables do not sufficiently explain the micro level of organizational allocation structures, which are mainly experienced as budgetary exigencies. Not only business organizations but also public administrations, welfare organizations, schools, universities and health care organizations are governed by budgets in a similar way. It is hypothesized that budgeting functions as a micro-mechanism to transform economic stagnation into income inequality at a societal level. Delegation of responsibility and the creation of consensus are discussed to be central goals of budgeting in enterprises, social administrations, educational and health organizations and the effects of budgeting on the distribution and the allocation of resources are analyzed.     

Transnational communities and business systems

The paper examines the concept of ‘transnational communities’ as a way of understanding globalization practices in business and management. It argues that ‘transnational communities’ are emergent properties of the internationalizing of economic activity. Three specific aspects of this process are considered in detail: the development of multinational companies; the development of international regulatory bodies; and the development of cognitive and normative frameworks through the practices of business education, management consultancies and other global professional service firms. It is argued that in each case, transnational spaces are emerging; within these spaces, transnational communities are developing. The article calls for more research into the diverse nature of these spaces and communities as a way of avoiding the sterile polarities of what Held et al. (1999) refer to as the ‘hyperglobalists’ and the ‘sceptics’.     

Das DIN-Interview

The regulation of standardized social surveys by a German national and an international norm, distributed by the Deutsche Institut für Normung, Berlin, is presented, regarding general out-lines as well as important details. Furthermore, three perspectives are dealt with in which these regulations are important not only for market and opinion research institutes, but for the academic discipline of sociology as well. Firstly, sociology is a client of the institutes. Drawing upon regulations, it is better equipped to negotiate with the institutes and to justify specific demands. Secondly, sociology and the institutes are equally interested in public opinion. Both live from the trust of people in market and opinion research which is sustained through the regulations. Thirdly, sociology educates graduates to be employed by the institutes and should therefore know and teach the regulations. As for the future, the internationallization of the institutes and technical advances as online surveys require the permanent revision of the regulations.     

Alternative Approaches to the Governance of Transnational Labor Recruitment

As globalization advances, the governance challenges relating to cross‐border labor recruitment have also grown. Transnational companies that manage the employment‐based migration process often take advantage of individuals seeking work abroad. While some states have implemented recruitment regulations, a combination of jurisdictional constraints and economic interests have limited states’ capacity and political will to take action. Supplemental strategies are emerging led by international organizations, non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), labor unions, and corporate trade groups. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of strategies led by each of these different types of actors and explores potential synergies among them.     

Perceptions of economic globalization,emerging influence,and international organizations in India

This article presents an exploratory study—based on the emerging economy context of India—which examines the relationships among citizens’ perceptions of economic globalization, their country's “emerging influence”, other key nations, and large international organizations. Demographic and socioeconomic factors influenced respondents’ perceptions of economic globalization and emerging influence. Perceptions of economic globalization influenced emerging influence. Perceptions of international organizations were influenced by views of emerging influence, key nations, and economic globalization. Perceptions of key nations were influenced by views of emerging influence and international organizations. The findings are relevant for extended engagement in global public relations and public diplomacy.     

Cultural antecedents and performance consequences of open communication and knowledge transfer in multicultural process-innovation teams

Abstract

Processes in multinational corporations (MNCs) have to be configured with regard to the challenges of a permanently evolving environment. Process-innovation teams are considered to be powerful tools inside organizations to cope with this necessity. Their performance is of major importance for most MNCs. As a response to the increasing internationalization and globalization of markets, these teams show a growing culturally diverse composition. This article focuses on two major processes that are discussed to decide about a positive or a negative performance of a team: intra-team communication style and knowledge transfer. Explicitly, this article (1) tests for the influence of cultural diversity on intra-team communication and knowledge transfer, and (2) empirically examines the impact of the openness of intra-team communication and knowledge transfer on the performance of multicultural teams. A quantitative empirical survey among 84 team-members of 20 culturally diverse teams within a German sportswear company is used to test the relationships. Findings reveal that national cultural diversity has no significant impact on intra-team communication and knowledge transfer but both of them have significant influences on different measures of performance.     

Surviving and thriving: Bringing back sociology at the University of San Francisco

This article provides a case study of successful departmental revitalization at the University of San Francisco. We examine the current crisis in the field of sociology and others’ recommendations for addressing it. Reforms are outlined that transformed USF Sociology from a nearly extinct program to a model department on campus. Jennifer Turpin’s research focuses on violence, militarism, gender, and war; Mike Webber’s research examines the relationship between business and politics; Anne Roschelle’s research concentrates on racial, ethnic, and underclass family networks; William Edwards studies urban development, globalization, and social inequality; and Joseph Angilella’s interests include religion and society and complex organizations.     

Global neo-liberalism, global ecological modernization, and a swine CAFO in rural Bulgaria

Rural and development sociology studies have tended to credit globalization with low-wage, extractive, environmentally destructive outcomes. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have been treated as a local manifestation of the destructive tendencies of globalization. However, recent scholarship on globalization suggests that globalization may also be credited with high-wage, value-added, environmentally friendly economic growth. Moving beyond a general emphasis on the destructive tendencies of globalization, these studies reveal that variation in industry, national and international policies, firm characteristics, and local geography (socio-economic and biophysical) may influence socioeconomic and ecological outcomes. We discuss how these factors help to create a more complex understanding of the relationship between agrifood globalization and local manifestations of CAFOs. We then highlight an example of a rural Bulgarian CAFO that is locally owned and has come to internalize its waste stream. Our findings support recent scholarship that distinguishes between global neo-liberalism and global ecologically modernization and that emphasizes a more complex understanding of how local socio-economic and biophysical factors interact with global processes to influence rural development.     

Unity in Diversity: Sociology in The Netherlands1

Does accumulation of knowledge occur in the social sciences, and if so, under what conditions? Three research programs in Dutch sociology are evaluated with regard to theory accumulation: figurational sociology at the University of Amsterdam: structural individualistic sociology at the University of Utrecht; and data-based sociological practice at the University of Leyden. In the first two schools, a wide international orientation is accompanied by the use of a closure mechanism, i. e. a publication and citation network that is restricted to members of the same research program. The result is a high degree of theoretical unity within a context of program diversity. The article concludes with some observations on the future of Dutch sociology, followed by a list of publications in each of the three programs.