TY - JOUR A1 - Stones, Rob A1 - Turner, Bryan S. T1 - Successful societies BT - Decision-making and the quality of attentiveness JF - The British journal of sociology : BJS online N2 - Combining moral philosophy with sociological theory to build on themes introduced in Hall and Lamont’s Successful Societies (2009), the paper outlines a distinctive perspective. It holds that a necessary condition of successful societies is that decision-makers base their decisions on a high level of attentiveness (concern and comprehension) towards subjectively valued and morally legitimate forms of life. Late modern societies consist of a plurality of forms of life, each providing grounds for what Alasdair MacIntyre has called internal goods—valued and morally valuable practices. The status of such goods is examined, and distinctions are drawn between their manifest and latent, and transposable and situationally specific, characteristics. We integrate this refined idea of internal goods into a developed conception of habitus that is both morally informed and situationally embedded. The sociological approach of strong structuration theory (SST) is employed to demonstrate how this conception of habitus can guide the critique of decision-making that damages internal goods. We identify the most pervasive and invidious forms of damaging decision-making in contemporary societies as those involving excessive forms of instrumental reasoning. We argue that our developed conception of habitus, anchored in the collectively valued practices of specific worlds, can be a powerful focus for resistance. Accounts of scholarship in higher education and of the white working class in America illustrate the specificities of singular, particular, social worlds and illuminate critical challenges raised by the perspective we advocate. KW - excessive instrumental reasoning KW - internal goods KW - moral philosophy KW - situationally-specific habitus KW - strong structuration theory (SST) Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12724 SN - 0007-1315 SN - 1468-4446 VL - 71 IS - 1 SP - 183 EP - 199 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor A1 - Marcucci, Nicola T1 - Durkheim in Germany BT - the performance of a classic JF - Journal of Classical Sociology Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17735991 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 271 EP - 275 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor T1 - Dialogue. Divergence. Veiled Reception. Criticism: Georg Simmel’s relationship with Emile Durkheim JF - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - Simmel was the only German sociologist who directly cooperated with Durkheim. After an initial impression of convergence between the sociology of social facts and the sociology of social forms, a break between the two founders of sociology became inevitable. Yet, Durkheim and Simmel went on positioning themselves against one other in the years ahead. Durkheim’s allegation of ‘individual psychologism’ induced Simmel to a veiled reception of Durkheim’s methodological approach that permitted him to refine the sociological epistemology he eventually presented in the Soziologie published in 1908. On this basis, he was able to formulate a final criticism of the sociology of social facts as a social psychology. KW - Sociology of social facts KW - sociology of social forms KW - moral sociology KW - transnormative sociology KW - criticism of social psychology Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17735994 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 SP - 293 EP - 308 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fitzi, Gregor A1 - Joas, Hans A1 - Marcucci, Nicola T1 - Interview by Gregor Fitzi and Nicola Marcucci with Hans Joas on the reception of Emile Durkheim in Germany. Berlin: Humboldt University of Berlin, 6 October 2014 T2 - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - The interview offers a reconstruction of the German reception of Durkheim since the middle of the 1970s. Hans Joas, who was one of its major protagonists, discusses the backdrop that finally permitted a scholarly examination of Durkheim’s sociology in Germany. Focussing on his personal reception Joas then gives an account of the Durkheimian themes that inspire his work. KW - Durkheim KW - human rights KW - modernity Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17736131 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 382 EP - 398 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fitzi, Gregor A1 - Marcucci, Nicola A1 - Müller, Hans-Peter T1 - Interview by Gregor Fitzi and Nicola Marcucci with Hans-Peter Müller on the reception of Emile Durkheim in Germany. Berlin: Humboldt University of Berlin, 25 February 2015 T2 - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - Just after the publication of the Theory of Communicative Action in 1981, a new generation of interpreters started a different reception of Durkheim in Germany. Hans-Peter Müller, sociologist and editor of the German translation of Leçons de sociologie, reconstructs the history of the German Durkheim’s Reception and illuminates the reasons for his interest in the French sociologist. He delivers different insights into the background which permitted the post-Habermasian generation to reach a new understanding of Durkheim’s work by enlightening the scientific and political conditions from which this new sensibility emerged. KW - Durkheim’s German Reception, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Jürgen Habermas Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17736132 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 399 EP - 422 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seyfried, Markus A1 - Reith, Florian T1 - Mixed methods for research into higher education BT - Solving the problem of institutionalized introspection? JF - Theory and method in higher education research N2 - Mixed methods approaches have become increasingly relevant in social sciences research over the last few decades. Nevertheless, we show that these approaches have rarely been explicitly applied in higher education research. This is somewhat surprising because mixed methods and empirical research into higher education seem to be a perfect match for several reasons: (1) the role of the researcher, which is associated with strong intersections between the research subject and the research object; (2) the research process, which relies on concepts and theories that are borrowed from other research fields; and (3) the research object, which exhibits unclear techniques in teaching and learning, making it difficult to grasp causalities between input and results. Mixed methods approaches provide a suitable methodology to research such topics. Beyond this, potential future developments underlining the particular relevance of mixed methods approaches in higher education are discussed. KW - Mixed methods KW - methodology KW - empirical research KW - higher education KW - qualitative research KW - quantitative research Y1 - 2019 SN - 978-1-83867-841-8 SN - 978-1-83867-842-5 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/S2056-375220190000005008 SN - 2056-3752 VL - 5 SP - 111 EP - 127 PB - Emerald Publishing Limited CY - Bingley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Smieliauskas, Wally A1 - Bewley, Kathryn A1 - Gronewold, Ulfert A1 - Menzefricke, Ulrich T1 - Misleading Forecasts in Accounting Estimates BT - a Form of Ethical Blindness in Accounting Standards? JF - Journal of business ethics N2 - The current financial reporting environment, with its increasing use of accounting estimates, including fair value estimates, suggests that unethical accounting estimates may be a growing concern. This paper provides explanations and empirical evidence for why some types of accounting estimates in financial reporting may promote a form of ethical blindness. These types of ethical blindness can have an escalating effect that corrupts not only an individual or organization but also the accounting profession and the public interest it serves. Ethical blindness in the standards of professional accountants may be a factor in the extent of misreporting, and may have taken on new urgency as a result of the proposals to change the conceptual framework for financial reporting using international standards. The social consequences for users of financial statements can be huge. The acquittal of former Nortel executives on fraud charges related to accounting manipulations is viewed by many as legitimizing accounting gamesmanship. This decision illustrates that the courts may not be the best place to deal with ethical reporting issues. The courts may be relied on for only the most egregious unethical conduct and, even then, the accounting profession is ill equipped to assist the legal system in prosecuting accounting fraud unless the standards have been clarified. We argue that the problem of unethical reporting should be addressed by the accounting profession itself, preferably as a key part of the conceptual framework that supports accounting and auditing standards, and the codes of ethical conduct that underpin the professionalism of accountants. KW - Ethical accounting estimates KW - Estimation uncertainty KW - IASB accounting conceptual framework KW - Accounting standards KW - Auditing standards Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3289-1 SN - 0167-4544 SN - 1573-0697 VL - 152 IS - 2 SP - 437 EP - 457 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Peyer, Mathias A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter A1 - Weber, Anja T1 - The many faces of sustainability-conscious consumers BT - a category-independent typology JF - Journal of Business Research N2 - Responding to the global call for a "sustainable economy" requires meaningful insights into sustainability-conscious consumers and their actual buying behaviors. Sustainable consumption is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon because it encompasses several distinct behavioral patterns and consumption types. Therefore, companies are well advised to recognize multiple types of sustainability-conscious consumers with different expectations, attitudes, and values and to implement targeting strategies that do not rest on the assumption of homogeneity. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide a more fine-grained picture of (un)sustainable consumer segments and their differentiated effects in different product markets. Based on three large datasets, we create a robust six-segment typology of consumer consciousness regarding sustainable consumption. By using panel data on actual purchases, the results show not only that sustainability concerns significantly positively influence actual sustainable purchases, as expected, but also that sustainable buying can occur independently of sustainability concerns. KW - Sustainability KW - Consumer typology KW - Consciousness regarding sustainable KW - consumption KW - Purchasing panel data KW - Human values Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.05.022 SN - 0148-2963 SN - 1873-7978 VL - 91 SP - 83 EP - 93 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heucher, Angela T1 - Evolving Order? Inter-Organizational Relations in the Organizational JF - Forum for Development Studies N2 - Global food security governance is fraught with fragmentation, overlap and complexity. While calls for coordination and coherence abound, establishing an inter-organizational order at this level seems to remain difficult. While the emphasis in the literature has so far been on the global level, we know less about dynamics of inter-organizational relations in food security governance at the country level, and empirical studies are lacking. It is this research gap the article seeks to address by posing the following research question: In how far does inter-organizational order develop in the organizational field of food security governance at the country level? Theoretically and conceptually, the article draws on sociological institutionalism, and on work on inter-organizational relations. Empirically, the article conducts an exploratory case study of the organizational field of food security governance in Côte d’Ivoire, building on a qualitative content analysis of organizational documents covering a period from 2003 to 2016 and semi-structured interviews with staff of international organizations from 2016. The article demonstrates that not all of the developments attributed to food security governance at the global level play out in the same way at the country level. Rather, in the case of Côte d’Ivoire there are signs for a certain degree of coherence between IOs in the field of food security governance and even for an – albeit limited – division of labour. However, this only holds for specific dimensions of the inter-organizational order and appears to be subject to continuous contestation and reinterpretation under the surface. KW - inter-organizational relations KW - international organizations KW - organizational fields KW - inter-organizational order KW - food security governance Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2018.1562962 SN - 0803-9410 SN - 1891-1765 VL - 46 IS - 3 SP - 501 EP - 526 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor T1 - Max Weber’s concept of ‘modern politics JF - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - In a critical approach to Mommsen’s classical thesis, which states the dependence of Weber’s sociology on his political position, the article reconstructs the foundation of Weber’s ‘The Profession and Vocation of Politics’ on his sociological analyses of the political domain in the manuscripts for the posthumous publication of Economy and Society. The first two pages of his 1919 lecture particularly show that Weber can fall back on the definitions of State and politics that he had already developed for his political sociology. Yet, to appreciate the full extent of this theoretical contribution, it is necessary to present Weber’s entire ideal-typical analysis of the political. The article then shows that Weber provides an unlabelled definition of ‘modern politics’ that negates ante litteram Carl Schmitt’s foundation of politics on the idea of enmity. In this context, Weber’s sound plea for parliamentarism and against the fascination of civil war comes to the fore that he wanted to deliver to his audience of young revolutionaries in January 1919. KW - Carl Schmitt KW - civil war KW - concept of the political KW - Max Weber KW - monopoly of legitimate use of force KW - parliamentarism KW - political sociology KW - revolution KW - violence Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X19851368 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 19 IS - 4 SP - 361 EP - 376 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER -