Economic sociology 2400-OG-EN-ES
This course is going to present, how sociology answers questions like: why people create companies together? What are the characteristics of global business elites? Why Swedish capitalism is different than Australian capitalism? Why small firms don’t want cashless terminals? The main aim is to present sociological methods and theories’ application to studies of economic issues. At the core of this discussion are issues like – social background of actors’ rationality, social constrains of economic activity, cultural aspects of running business. With references to classical (Weber, Marks, Durkheim, Simmel) and modern sociological theories and concepts (Granovetter, DiMaggio, North) we will discuss the most important and current topics for economic sociology, incl. cashless society, corporate governance, networks and collusion within business elites (interlocking directorates), varieties of capitalism, trust and power in economy and business relations. The lecture will end with a written exam.
Total student workload
Learning outcomes - knowledge
Learning outcomes - skills
Learning outcomes - social competencies
Teaching methods
Expository teaching methods
- problem-based lecture
Online teaching methods
- methods developing reflexive thinking
- methods referring to authentic or fictitious situations
Type of course
Prerequisites
Course coordinators
Assessment criteria
Assessment methods:
- written examination (3 open questions)- W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, U1, U2, U3, U4, K1, K2
Assessment criteria:
Lecture – written exam (max. 20 pts):
• fail- 10 pts (50%)
• satisfactory- 11 pts (51%)
• satisfactory plus- 15 pts (75%)
• good – 16 pts (80%)
• good plus- 17 pts (85%)
• very good-18-20 pts (90%)
Bibliography
1. Paul DiMaggio.1998. The New Institutionalisms : Avenues of Collaboration. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 154 (1998)
2. John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan. Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony. The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Sep., 1977), pp. 340-363
3. Nee, V. (1998). Sources of the New Institutionalism. In M. C. Brinton & V. Nee (Eds.), The New Institutionalism in Sociology (pp. 1–16). New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
4. March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (2011). Elaborating the “New Institutionalism.” In R. E. Goodin (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780199604456.013.0008
5. Mayer, M. C. J., & Whittington, R. (1999). Strategy, structure and “systemness”: National institutions and corporate change in France, Germany and the UK, 1950-1993. Organization Studies, 20(6), 933–959. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840699206002
6. Ingram, P., & Clay, K. (2000). The Choice-Within-Constraints New Institutionalism and Implications for Sociology. Annual Review Sociology, 26(2000), 525–546. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.525
7. Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic Action and Social Structure: the Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481–510. https://doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2002-3-44-58
8. Szalacha-Jarmużek, J., & Pietrowicz, K. (2018). Missing causality and absent institutionalization. A case of Poland and methodological challenges for future studies of interlocking directorates. Economics and Sociology, 11(4), 157-172. doi:10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-4/10
9. Buch-Hansen, H. (2014). Interlocking directorates and collusion: An empirical analysis. International Sociology, 4(29), 249-267.
10. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
11. Schoorman, F. D., Bazerman, M. H., & Atkin, R. S. (1981). Interlocking directorates: a strategy for reducing environmental uncertainty. Academy of Management Review, 6, 243-251.
12. O’Dwyer, R., 2019. Cache society: transactional records, electronic money, and cultural resistance. Journal of Cultural Economy, 12(2), pp. 133–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2018.1545243
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: