Universities and the market economy: The differential impact on knowledge production in sociology and economics

Byline: Mathieu Albert (1) Keywords: economics; entrepreneurial science; knowledge production; social science; sociology; university studies Abstract: Based on the conceptualframework of Pierre Bourdieu, this studycompares the impact of pressure to develop tieswith non-academic organisations on two fieldsof research, namely: sociology and economics.The study highlights the dynamics particular toeach discipline and shows that a soundunderstanding of transformations affectinguniversity research cannot exclude analysis ofthe specificity of each one. Two cohorts ofprofessors were studied in two Quebecuniversities: the first cohort was made up ofprofessors who received tenure between 1974 and1983, and the second between 1989 and 1998. Theresults suggest that pressures in favor ofpartnership with non-academic organisationshave not had the same impact in sociology andeconomics. While research practices haveundergone transformations in each discipline,the nature of these transformations differs inan important way. The results also contradicttwo popular models in knowledge productionstudies, which are the Entrepreneurial Science,and Mode 1/Mode 2 models. Although these modelsclaim that academic research orientation hasbecome geared towards problem-solving, ourresults indicate, however, that the oppositetrend has been taking place in sociology andeconomics. Author Affiliation: (1) Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST), Universite du Quebec a Montreal, P.O. Box 8888, Station Centre-ville, Montreal, (Quebec), Canada, H3C 3P8 Article History: Registration Date: 11/10/2004