Special Topics In Economic Sociology and Organizational Theory (BUSE 39906-50/ SOCI 40235) Winter 2019-2020 Monday, 12:30-3:20pm Harper Center, room 3SW Prof. Patrick Bergemann [email protected] Office: Harper 324 Prof. Amanda Sharkey [email protected] Office: Harper 322 I. Course Description This course offers an introduction to theories and empirical research on status and wrongdoing in organizational contexts. We will examine both classical and contemporary work on status and wrongdoing, with an eye toward highlighting central conceptual frameworks, questions, and debates. Special emphasis will be placed on translating these frameworks, questions and debates into tractable research questions and developing appropriate research designs. II. Course Requirements and Grading Class participation (30%): You should come to class prepared and ready to discuss the materials. In the end, academic life is about dialogue, so forming and expressing your opinion in discussion (as well as in writing) is one of the most important skills you can develop. Outline and Presentation of Readings/Session Leadership (20%): Each student will be responsible for starting off class discussion for one week of the class. Discussion leaders are responsible for two main tasks: introducing the readings and providing a starting point for a stimulating discussion. This will entail preparation of a set of slides: 1 slide providing a cogent overview and synthesis of the key ideas/themes in the readings, detailed slides summarizing each reading (1-2 slides per reading), and 1slide with class discussion questions. Session leadership slides are due by noon on the Friday before class. Empirical/Research Design Memo (10%): In this memo, you should propose an empirical phenomenon that you could plausibly study. Discuss relevant research design issues, such as sampling, measurement of key dependent and independent variables, false reporting/unobservability, and ways to rule out key alternative explanations. From the perspective of data and research design, what are the appealing aspects of studying this phenomenon, and what are the downsides? Thinking through these issues should also help to generate ideas for the final paper, although your final paper does not have to involve the phenomenon that you proposeto study in this memo. Memos should be 2-3 pages double-spaced and are due Friday, Feb. 21 by 9 a.m. Final paper (40%): In your final paper, you should propose a research question as well as a design that is suitable for testing it. Your final paper should follow the style of a published article (in a journal like American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology or Administrative Science Quarterly). First, tell why the question you propose is important. Second, drawing on the existing literature, outline your theoretical arguments and derive a set of testable predictions. Third, describe how you would test the idea (i.e., outline a research design). Be sure to explain the advantages and disadvantages of your design. You will be graded on the novelty of your idea, your use of existing theory in developing your arguments, and the quality of your research design (i.e., having identified and addressed key issues relevant to testing your arguments). Papers should be 7-10 pages double-spaced. The paper will be due on Monday, March 16 at 9am.You will briefly describe your idea to the class and get feedback during Week 9 of the course. All assignments should be submitted via Canvas.III. Course Schedule Week 1 (January 6) Topic: Defining and Measuring Status Required Readings: ● Goode, William J. 1978. “Social Control Through Prestige Processes.” ch. 1 in The Celebration of Heroes: Prestige as a Control System. (University of California Press: Berkeley). ● Merton, Robert K. “The Matthew Effect in Science.” Science 159: 56-63. ● Podolny, Joel M. "A status-based model of market competition." American journal of sociology 98.4 (1993): 829-872. ● Piazza, Alessandro, and Fabrizio Castellucci. "Status in organization and management theory." Journal of Management 40.1 (2014): 287-315. (SKIM) ● Espeland, Wendy Nelson and Michael Sauder. "Rankings and Reactivity: How Public Measures Recreate Social Worlds" American Journal of Sociology 113.1 (2007): 1-40. Further Reading: ● Sorenson, Olav. "Status and reputation: Synonyms or separate concepts?." Strategic Organization 12.1 (2014): 62-69. ● Sauder, Michael, Freda Lynn, and Joel M. Podolny. "Status: Insights from organizational sociology." Annual Review of Sociology 38 (2012): 267-283. ● Ridgeway, Cecilia L., and Shelley J. Correll. "Consensus and the creation of status beliefs." Social Forces 85.1 (2006): 431-453. Week 2 (January 13) Topic: Introduction to Organizational Wrongdoing Required Readings: ● Palmer, Donald. Normal organizational wrongdoing: A critical analysis of theories of misconduct in and by organizations. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2012. (Chapters 2 and 3) ● Palmer, Donald, Royston Greenwood, and Kristin Smith-Crowe, eds. Organizational wrongdoing: Key perspectives and new directions. Cambridge University Press, 2016. (Chapter 2) ● Vadera, Abhijeet K., and Michael G. Pratt. "Love, hate, ambivalence, or indifference? A conceptual examination of workplace crimes and organizational identification." Organization Science 24.1 (2013): 172-188. ● Greve, Henrich R., Donald Palmer, and Jo-Ellen Pozner. "Organizations gone wild: The causes, processes, and consequences of organizational misconduct." The Academy of Management Annals 4.1 (2010): 53-107.Week 3 (January 20) No class - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Week 4 (January 27) Topic: Status and Motivations Toward Conformity or Deviance Required Readings: ● Merton, Robert K. "Social structure and anomie." American sociological review 3.5 (1938): 672-682. ● Phillips, Damon J., and Ezra W. Zuckerman. "Middle-status conformity: Theoretical restatement and empirical demonstration in two markets." American Journal of Sociology 107.2 (2001):