Innovation in Science and Organizational Renewal : Historical and Sociological Perspectives

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.

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).