Call for Papers - Session on "Mechanisms of Change in Organizational Networks"

Call for Papers - Session on "Mechanisms of Change in Organizational Networks"
XXXIII. Sunbelt Conference, May 21 - 26, 2013 in Hamburg, Germany


Session organizers:
Henning Hillmann, University of Mannheim, Germany (hillmann@uni-mannheim.de) Valery Yakubovich, ESSEC Business School, France (yakubovich@essec.fr)

One of the most exciting areas in recent studies of organizational networks concerns the emergence of new organizational forms (e.g. the volume on Emergence of Organizations and Markets, by John Padgett and Woody Powell): where do markets and organizations come from? What social structural conditions and contexts are particularly favorable to facilitate innovation in organizations and elsewhere? Social science research tends to be attracted to newness. Yet, just as important are questions about the persistence of established organizational networks: why exactly are some organizational networks more likely to survive than others? What social mechanisms may account for their long-run survival and the spill-over effects they may have into other areas of organizational life? At the same time, we routinely observe organizational change. Does such change emerge endogenously, from within organizational networks? Or, is it more likely to be triggered by exogenous shocks? We believe that a promising approach to answering these questions seeks to identify the micro-foundations and causal mechanisms that give rise to various organizational macro-structures (e.g. Peter Hedstrom and Peter Bearman, eds., Handbook of Analytical Sociology).

We invite submissions that advance our understanding of the emergence, persistence and change of organizational networks. We particularly welcome contributions that try to solve interesting empirical puzzles and advance theory through mechanism-based explanations.

Submission will be closing on December 31 at 11:59:59 EST. Please limit your abstract to 250 words.

Proceed to abstract submission:http://www.abstractserver.com/sunbelt2013/absmgm/ When submitting your abstract, please select “Mechanisms of Change in Organizational Networks” as session title in the drop down box on the submission site. To be extra sure please put a note in the "additional notes" box on the abstract submission form that states Henning Hillmann as the session organizer.

For further information on the venue an1d conference registration see http://hamburg-sunbelt2013.org

___________________________________________
Henning Hillmann
Professor of Economic and Organizational Sociology
School of Social Sciences
University of Mannheim
D-68131 Mannheim, Germany
Phone: +49.(0)621.181.3942
Fax: +49.(0)621.181.1983