Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T12:36:50.440Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Prizes and the Organization of Status

from Part 1 - Rules, Sanctions, Membership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2019

By
Peter Edlund ,
Josef Pallas  and
Linda Wedlin
Edited by
Göran Ahrne  and
Nils Brunsson
Göran Ahrne
Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
Nils Brunsson
Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we analyse prizes as forms of partial organization, particularly focusing on prizes as one way to organize approval procedures. A basis for this view is that prizes are based on decisions and thus constitute a sanctioning mechanism to actors. Our aim is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of prizes as partial organization. We use prizes in the fields of science and sports as empirical examples to answer these questions. Based on our definition of prizes as publicly communicated decisions of approval, we explore three ways in which prizes vary: the uses of rules; membership; and communication of prizes and prize decisions. From this, two main strategies for prize giving are identified: one more organized and the other more ‘mystical’. The first uses elements of formal organization to formulate rules or membership criteria, and to communicate them to both the potential prize recipients and the audience. The second lacks these elements, which engulf prizes in an aura of mystery. From this finding, we explore some potential and observed effects of prizes on actors’ behaviours, on status and status positions in fields in which the actors operate, and on prize givers themselves.

Keywords

prizesdecisionsapproval proceduresstatussanctioningmembershiprulescommunication
Type
Chapter
Information
Organization outside Organizations
The Abundance of Partial Organization in Social Life
 , pp. 62 - 83
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, N. J. & Harzing, A.-W. (2009) When Knowledge Wins: Transcending the Sense and Nonsense of Academic Rankings. Academy of Management Learning & Education 8(1): 72–95.Google Scholar
Allen, M. P. & Lincoln, A. E. (2004) Critical Discourse and the Cultural Consecration of American Films. Social Forces 82(3): 871–93.Google Scholar
Anand, N. & Watson, M. R. (2004) Tournament Rituals in the Evolution of Fields: The Case of the Grammy Awards. Academy of Management Journal 47(1): 59–80.Google Scholar
Appadurai, A. (1986) Introduction: Commodities and the Politics of Valu. In Appadurai, A. (eds.), The Social Life of Things. Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 3–63.Google Scholar
Best, J. (2008) Prize Proliferation. Sociological Forum 23(1): 1–27.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1991) Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Breakthrough (2017) Rules. Retrieved 28 March 2017 from https://breakthroughprize.org/Rules/2.Google Scholar
Brumfiel, G. (2012) Physics Prize Dwarfs All Others. Nature 488(7410): 144.Google Scholar
Brunsson, N. & Wedlin, L. (2018) Organizing competition for status. Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
Cohen, P. (2008) On Chicago Campus, Milton Friedman’s Legacy of Controversy Continues. Retrieved 29 March 2017 from www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/books/12milt.html.Google Scholar
Couldry, N. (2003) Media Rituals: A Critical Approach. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
English, J. F. (2005) The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Engwall, L. (2015) Academies and their Roles in Policy Decisions. In Wedlin, L. & Nedeva, M. (eds.), Towards European Science. Dynamics and Policy of an Evolving European Research Space. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 147–74.Google Scholar
Espeland, W. N. & Sauder, M. (2007) Rankings and Reactivity: How Public Measures Recreate Social Worlds. American Journal of Sociology 113(1): 1–40.Google Scholar
European Commission (2006) 6 Years of Descartes Prize Winners. Excellence in Scientific Collaborative Research and Science Communication. Retrieved 12 May 2017 from https://ec.europa.eu/research/science-awards/pdf/6_years_descartes_en.pdf.Google Scholar
Feldman, B. (2001) The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy, and Prestige: Arcade Publishing.Google Scholar
Fombrun, C. J. & Van Riel, C. B. M. (2004) Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Frank, R. H. & Cook, P. J. (1995) The Winner-Take-All Society. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Frey, B. S. & Neckermann, S. (2009) Awards: A View from Economics. In Brennan, G. & Eusepi, G. (eds.), The Economics of Ethics and the Ethics of Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 73–88.Google Scholar
Friedman, S. M., Dunwoody, S., & Rogers, C. L. (1999) Communicating Uncertainty: Media Coverage of New and Controversial Science. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gale (2008) Awards, Honors, and Prizes. Retrieved 24 March 2017 from http://assets.cengage.com/pdf/fs_AHP.pdf.Google Scholar
Goode, W. J. (1978) The Celebration of Heroes: Prestige as a Social Control System. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Grand Slam (2017) 2017 Official Grand Slam Rule Book. London: Grand Slam Board.Google Scholar
Henrich, J. & Gil-White, F. J. (2001) The Evolution of Prestige: Freely Conferred Deference as a Mechanism for Enhancing the Benefits of Cultural Transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior 22(3): 165–96.Google Scholar
Johansson, R. & Zemlianichenko, A. (2014) Fler priser utmanar Nobels status. Retrieved 27 March 2017 from www.svt.se/nyheter/vetenskap/fler-priser-utmanar-nobels-status.Google Scholar
Luhmann, N. (2000) Organisation und Entscheidung. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.Google Scholar
Martins, L. L. (2005) A Model of the Effects of Reputational Rankings on Organizational Change. Organization Science 16(6): 701–20.Google Scholar
Merali, Z. (2013) The New Nobels. Nature 498(7453): 152–4.Google Scholar
Nalebuff, B. J. & Stiglitz, J. E. (1983) Prizes and Incentives: Towards a General Theory of Compensation and Competition. Bell Journal of Economics 14(1): 21–43.Google Scholar
National Geographic (2017) 2017 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony: Scientists Changing the World. Retrieved 28 March 2017 from http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/breakthrough-prize/.Google Scholar
New York Times (2015) Breakthrough Prizes Give Top Scientists the Rock Star Treatment. Retrieved 28 March 2017 from www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/06/science/breakthrough-prize-winners-2016.html?_r=0.Google Scholar
Nobel Prize (2017a) Alfred Nobel. Retrieved 15 May 2017 from www.nobelprize.org/.Google Scholar
Nobel Prize (2017b) Milton Friedman – Facts. Retrieved 29 March 2017 from www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/1976/friedman-facts.html.Google Scholar
Pallas, J., Wedlin, L., & Grünberg, J. (2016) Organizations, Prizes, and Media. Journal of Organizational Change Management 29(7): 1066–82.Google Scholar
Power, M. (1997) The Audit Society. Rituals of Verification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Power, M. (2007) Organized Uncertainty. Designing a World of Risk Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sauder, M. & Espeland, W. N. (2009) The Discipline of Rankings: Tight Coupling and Organizational Change. American Sociological Review 74(1): 63–82.Google Scholar
Schein, E. H. (2010) Organizational Culture and Leadership. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Seidl, D. (2006) The Basic Concepts of Luhmann’s Theory of Social Systems. In Seidl, D. & Becker, K. H. (eds.), Niklas Luhmann and Organization Studies. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press. 21–53.Google Scholar
Speier, H. (1935) Honor and Social Structure. Social Research: An International Quarterly 2(1): 74–97.Google Scholar
Street, J. (2005) ‘Showbusiness of a Serious Kind’: A Cultural Politics of the Arts Prize. Media, Culture & Society 27(6): 819–40.Google Scholar
Trice, H. M. & Beyer, J. M. (1984) Studying Organizational Cultures Through Rites and Ceremonials. Academy of Management Review 9(4): 653–69.Google Scholar
UEFA (2017) Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2015–18 Cycle. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations.Google Scholar
Wedlin, L. (2006) Ranking Business Schools. Forming Fields, Identities and Boundaries in International Management Education. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Wedlin, L. (2007) The Role of Rankings in Codifying a Business School Template: Classifications, Diffusion, and Mediated Isomorphism in Organizational Fields. European Management Review 4(1): 24–39.Google Scholar
Whitley, R. (2000) The Intellectual and Social Organization of the Sciences: Oxford: Oxford University Press on Demand.Google Scholar
Zitzewitz, E. (2006) Nationalism in Winter Sports Judging and Its Lessons for Organizational Decision Making. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 15(1): 67–99.Google Scholar
Zuckerman, H. (1978) The Sociology of the Nobel Prize. Further Notes and Queries: How Successful are the Prizes in Recognizing Scientific Excellence? American Scientist 66(4): 420–5.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×