Innovation in Science and Organizational Renewal

This book looks at the types of new research organizations that drive scientific innovation and how ground-breaking science transforms research fields and their organization. Based on historical case studies and comparative empirical data, the book presents new and thought-provoking evidence that improves our knowledge and understanding about how new research fields are formed and how research organizations adapt to breakthroughs in science. While the book is firmly based in science history, it discusses more general sociological and policy propositions regarding scientific innovations and organizational change. The volume brings together leading scholars both from the United States and Europe.

“This fascinating collection of studies traces the ways in which investments and innovations in scientific institutions - from novel organizations, physical facilities and conferences to new forms of collaboration, competition, and careers - co-evolve with and shape the emergence of ideas, technologies, and ultimately scientific advance.” (James E. Evans, Professor of Sociology and Director of Knowledge Lab, University of Chicago, USA)

“Finally, a book in the vein of the seminal work of Joseph Ben-David, a book that extends and revives the understanding of the dynamics of scientific production! Brilliant in-depth case studies of various research institutions, covering a range of countries over the 20st century, mix historical and sociological perspectives while convincingly demonstrating the crucial role of research organizations design in the production of innovative and interdisciplinary science. Labs are not virtual: they have structures, they define norms and the way the latter are set and work has to be taken into account if one wants to grasp what kinds of scientific results they will enable.” (Christine Musselin, Vice-President for Research at SciencesPo, France)   

Thomas Heinze is Professor and Chair at the Institute of Sociology at Wuppertal University, Germany. His research interests include scientific creativity and research breakthroughs, governance of research organizations, research evaluation, theories of institutional change, and organizational renewal. His publications have appeared in Research Policy, Economy and Society, Science and Public Policy, Scientometrics, Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, and Zeitschrift für Soziologie.

Richard Münch is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Bamberg, Germany, and Senior Professor of Social Theory and Comparative Macrosociology at Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Germany. He is a member of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Among his recent publications is Academic Capitalism: Universities in the Global Struggle for Excellence (2014).