The article explores the process by which academic research settings become influenced by external funders upon whom they depend for vital resources. The emerging resource relations between university research and external funders give rise to an academic infrastructure that deviates from the traditional model of autonomy and freedom of science, and increasingly comes to resemble the context of nonacademic research settings. Based on data collected in Israel, it was found that externally funded academic research shows a low degree of autonomy, a high degree of structural formalization, and low influence of the scientific literature on problem-choice processes. External control affects the nature of the research product as well. Whereas the rate of published papers (articles) declines, the rate of unpublished papers (technical reports) increases with external funds. These observations suggest that the distinction between academic and nonacademic research settings is inappropriate for explaining the variance among different research infrastructures. Rather, the nature of the dependency situation accounts for their specific characteristics. The results have implications for the study of stratification in science and the growth of scientific and technological knowledge.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllisonP. D.LongS.KrauzeT. K.1982“Cumulative advantage and inequality in science”. Amer. Soc. Rev.47: 615–625
2.
BarberB.1952Science and the Social Order. New York: Collier
3.
BarberB.1974Scientific Knowledge and Sociological Theory. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
4.
BarnesB.EdgeD.1982Science in Context. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
5.
BensonJ. K.1973“The analysis of bureaucratic-professional conflict: Functional versus dialectical approaches”. Soc. Q.14: 376–394
6.
BlackburnR. T.BehymerC. E.HallD. E.1978“Research note: Correlates of faculty publications”. Sociology of Education51: 132–141
7.
BlauP. M.1964Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: John Wiley
8.
BlumeS. S.1974Toward a Political Sociology of Science. New York: Free Press
9.
BlumeS. S. (ed.) 1977Perspectives in the Sociology of Science. Chichester: Wiley
10.
ChubinD. E.PorterA. L.BoeckmannM. E.1981“Career patterns of scientists: A case for complementary data (comment on Long et al. ASR, October 1979)”. Amer. Soc. Rev.46: 488–495
11.
CohenB. P.KruseR. J.AnbarM.1982“The social structure of scientific research teams”. Pacific Soc. Rev.25: 205–232
12.
ColeJ. R.ColeS. C.1973Social Stratification in Science. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
13.
ColeS. C.1979“Age and scientific performance”. Amer. J. of Sociology84: 958–977
14.
CraneD.1965“Scientists in major and minor universities”. Amer. Soc. Rev.30: 699–714
15.
CraneD.1969“Social structure in a group of scientists: A test of the ‘Invisible college hypothesis’”. Amer. Soc. Rev.34: 335–352
16.
CraneD.1972Invisible Colleges: Diffusion of Knowledge in Scientific Communities. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
EtzioniA.1968“Organizational dimensions and their interrelationships: A theory of compliance,” in IndikB. P.BerrienF. K. (eds.) People, Groups and Organizations. New York: Teachers College Press
19.
EzrahiY.1971“The political resources of American science”. Sci. Studies1: 117–133
20.
FoxM. F.1983“Publication productivity among scientists: A critical review”. Social Studies of Sci.13: 285–306
21.
GastonJ.1973Originality and Competition in Science. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
22.
GastonJ. (ed.) 1978Sociology of Science. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
GoldbergA. I.KatsR.1984“Migration and research commitments: Long-term effects of national socialization”. Int. Migration22: 129–143
25.
GoldbergA. I.ShenhavY. A.1984“R&D career paths: Their relation to work goals and productivity”. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management31: 111–117
26.
GreenbergD. S.1967The Politics of Pure Science. New York: New American Library
27.
HagstromW. O.1965The Scientific Community. New York: Basic
28.
HanushekE.JacksonJ.1977Statistical Methods for Social Scientists. New York: Academic
29.
HargensL. L.FelmleeD. H.1984“Structural determinants of stratification in science”. Amer. Soc. Rev.49: 685–696
30.
HeydebrandW. V.1973“Autonomy, complexity, and nonbureaucratic coordination in professional organizations,” in HeydebrandW. V. (ed.) Comparative Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
31.
JohnstonR.RobbinsD.1977“The development of specialties in industrialized science”. Soc. Rev.25:87–106. 87–106.
32.
Knoor-CetinaK. D.1982“Scientific communities or transepistemic arenas of research? a critique of quasi-economic models of science”. Social Studies of Sci.12: 101–130
33.
Knorr-CetinaK. D.MittermeirR.1980“Publication productivity and professional position: Cross-national evidence on the role of organizations”. Scientometrics2: 95–120
34.
KornhauserW.1962Scientists in Industry: Conflict and Accommodation. Westport, CT: Greenwood
35.
KuhnT. S.1970The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
36.
La PorteT. R.WoodJ. L.1970“Functional contributions of bootlegging and entrepreneurship in research organizations”. Human Organization29: 273–287
37.
LongJ. S.1978“Productivity and academic position in the scientific career”. Amer. Soc. Rev.43: 889–908
38.
LongJ. S.McGinnisR.1981“Organizational context and scientific productivity”. Amer. Soc. Rev.46: 422–442
39.
MenardH. W.1971Science: Growth and Change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press
40.
MertonR. K.1968“The Matthew Effect in science”. Science159: 56–63
41.
MertonR. K.1973The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigation (StorerN. W. ed.). Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
42.
MeyerJ. W.ScottR. W.1983Organizational Environments: Ritual and Rationality. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
43.
MittermeirR.KnorrK. D.1979“Scientific productivity and accumulative advantage: A thesis presented in the light of international data”. R&D Management9: 235–239
44.
MulkayM. J.1976“The mediating role of the scientific elite”. Social Studies of Sci.6: 445–470
45.
MulkayM. J.1977“Sociology of the scientific research community,” in Spiegel-RosingI.de PriceS.D. (eds.) Science Technology and Society. London: Sage
46.
MullinsN. C.1973Theories and Theory Groups in Contemporary American Sociology. New York: Harper & Row
47.
NarinF.1976Evaluative Bibliometrics. Cherry Hill, NJ: Computer Horizons
48.
PelzD. C.1964“Freedom in research”. Int. Sci. and Technology (February): 54–66
49.
PelzD. C.AndrewsF. M.1966Scientists in Organizations. New York: John Wiley
50.
PfefferJ.1972“Merger as a response to organizational interdependence”. Admin. Sci. Q.17: 382–394
51.
PfefferJ.1982Organizations and Organization Theory. Boston: Pitman
52.
PfefferJ.SalancikG.1978The External Control of Organizations. New York: Harper & Row
53.
PolanyiM.1951The Logic of Liberty. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
54.
PriceD. J. S.1963Little Science, Big Science. New York: Columbia Univ. Press
55.
PriceD. J. S.1965“Networks of scientific papers”. Science49: 510–515
56.
PriceD.J.S.BeaverD.1966“Collaboration in an invisible college”. Amer. Psychologist21: 1011–1018
57.
PriceD. K.1962Government and Science. New York: Oxford Univ. Press
58.
RavetzJ. R.1971Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. Oxford: Clarendon
59.
ReskinB.1977“Scientific productivity and the reward structure of science”. Amer. Soc. Rev.42: 491–504
60.
ReskinB.1978“Scientific productivity, sex and location in the institution of science”. Amer. J. of Sociology83: 1235–1243
61.
ReskinB.1979“Academic sponsorship and scientists' careers”. Sociology of Education52: 129–146
62.
RobbinsD.JohnstonR.1976“The social role of cognitive and occupational differentiation in scientific controversies”. Social Studies of Sci.6: 349–368
63.
RosenzweigR. M.1982The Research Universities and Their Patrons. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press
64.
ScottW. R.1965“Reactions to supervision in a heteronomous professional organization”. Admin. Sci. Q.10: 65–81
65.
ScottW. R.1966“Professionals in bureaucracies: Areas of conflict,” pp. 265–275 in VollmerH.MillsD. L. (eds.) Professionalization. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
66.
ScottW. R.1981Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
67.
ScottW. R.1982“Managing professional work: Three models of control for health organizations”. Health Services Research17: 213–240
68.
ShepardH. A.1956“Nine dilemmas in industrial research”. Admin. Sci. Q.1: 295–309
69.
ShrumJ. A.1984“Scientific specialties and technical systems”. Social Studies of Science14: 63–90
70.
StewartJ. A.1983“Achievement and ascriptive processes in the recognition of scientific articles”. Social Forces62: 166–189
71.
StillmanD. (ed.) 1957Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo. New York: Doubleday Anchor
72.
Stolte-HeiskanenV.1979“Externally determined resources and the effectiveness of research units,” in AndrewsF.M.Scientific Productivity. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press
73.
StorerN. W.1966The Social System of Science. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
74.
SuttonJ. R.1984“Organizational autonomy and professional norms in science: A case study of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory”. Social Studies of Sci.14: 197–224
75.
ThompsonJ. D.1967Organizations in Action. New York: McGraw-Hill
76.
UseemM.1976a“State production of social knowledge: Patterns in government financing of academic social research”. Amer. Soc. Rev.41: 613–629
77.
UseemM.1976b“Government influence on the social science paradigm”. Soc. Q.17: 146–161
78.
YuchtmanE.SeashoreS. E.1967“A system resource approach to organizational effectiveness,”Amer. Soc. Rev.32: 891–903
79.
ZuckermanH.1967“Nobel Laureates in science: Patterns of productivity, collaboration, and authorship”. Amer. Soc. Rev.32: 391–403
