Institute for Social Sciences, Department of Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies, University of Stuttgart https://hdl.handle.net/10419/88168 2026-10-23T01:14:53Z 2026-10-23T01:14:53Z Büchinger, Ricarda Dreher, Marc Kungl, Gregor https://hdl.handle.net/10419/341988 2026-07-17T17:09:52Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Anti-ökologischer Backlash in der Wirtschaft: Krisenwahrnehmung, Zukunftserwartungen und Antwortstrategien in Energiewirtschaft, verarbeitender Industrie und Lebensmittelbranche Authors: Büchinger, Ricarda; Dreher, Marc; Kungl, Gregor Abstract: In den zurückliegenden Jahren gab es eine Reihe an Entwicklungen, die sich als eine Verlangsamung, teilweise auch Umkehrung ökologisch-nachhaltiger Transformationsprozesse betrachten lassen - etwa der Austritt der USA aus dem Pariser Klimaabkommen. Diese Entwicklungen werden in der akademischen und öffentlichen Debatte als anti-ökologischer Backlash diskutiert. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht auf Basis von 31 qualitativen Interviews mit Entscheidungsträger:innen aus Unternehmen der Energiewirtschaft, Lebensmittelbranche und verarbeitenden Industrie, wie der antiökologische Backlash von Wirtschaftsakteuren wahrgenommen wird, welche Zukunftserwartungen sie damit verbinden und mit welchen unternehmerischen Maßnahmen sie ihm begegnen. Das Ergebnis zeigt, dass der Backlash zwar breit wahrgenommen wird, die damit verbundenen Zukunftserwartungen aber sehr heterogen sind und sich unter anderem zwischen den verschiedenen Branchen unterscheiden. Während einzelne Unternehmen nachhaltigkeitsbezogene Investitionen reduzieren oder pausieren, bleiben die Reaktionen auf den Backlash in den meisten unserer Fälle tentativ und beschränken sich auf eine Anpassung der Außenkommunikation. Aufgrund der Aktualität des Themas bleiben die Ergebnisse jedoch vorläufig und eine weitere begleitende Untersuchung erforderlich.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Schrape, Jan-Felix https://hdl.handle.net/10419/311219 2025-09-24T13:24:33Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Artificial intelligence and social action: A techno-sociological contextualization Authors: Schrape, Jan-Felix Abstract: This discussion paper contextualizes contemporary forms of artificial intelligence (AI) within the broader relationship between technology and society, and it compiles essential insights from the sociology of technology for interdisciplinary discourse. The paper begins with a concise overview of the history of artificial intelligence and situates AI within the co-evolution of technology and society. It then presents key perspectives on the interaction and distributed agency between humans and technology, identifying five fundamental levels of agency and relating these levels to the interplay of AI and social action. Throughout these considerations, it becomes evident that the expectations of human-technology interaction, as well as the concepts of intelligent technology, are continually evolving and contingent upon social change. Consequently, the development and diffusion of AI should not be viewed as a primarily technology-driven phenomenon but rather as a genuine socio-technological transformation process.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Dolata, Ulrich https://hdl.handle.net/10419/280954 2025-09-24T13:24:32Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Industry platforms: A new mode of coordination in the economy Authors: Dolata, Ulrich Abstract: This discussion paper is a plea for an urgently needed shift in perspective: from the concentration of social science research on the ubiquitous platforms of the consumption- and communication-based internet to the investigation of the platform-oriented reorganization of industrial distribution, production and innovation processes, which has so far received far less attention. The paper focuses on two questions. Firstly, what distinguishes industrial platforms from the platforms that characterize the consumption- and- communication-based internet? Can typical peculiarities and overarching characteristics of platform-based forms of work and organization in industry be identified? And secondly, do platforms represent an independent form of organization and coordination of industrial market, production and innovation processes that is substantially different from organized networks? The paper undertakes an empirical mapping and classification of the little explored field of industrial platforms and discusses from a theoretical-conceptual perspective why platforms should be conceived of as a sui generis form of organization whose dominant mode of coordination can be described as rule-based curation.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Dolata, Ulrich https://hdl.handle.net/10419/307142 2025-09-24T13:24:33Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The sociotechnical constitution of fields: Integrating technology into the conceptualization of organizational fields Authors: Dolata, Ulrich Abstract: Technology is an essential component of every modern society. Furthermore, new technological possibilities play a key role as catalysts and drivers of far-reaching socio-economic change. When seeking to analyze and reconstruct such transformations, such as in the context of case studies, for example, researchers often use institutionalistic field concepts as heuristic and general frameworks. This is surprising, since technology, as an important engine of change, is virtually absent from such field concepts. This paper discusses the role of technology in the structuring, organization, and transformation of fields. It explains how technology can be integrated into the conceptual framework of organizational fields and why the latter should be understood and analyzed as sociotechnical units.

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