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From the Sloan list
Barry Wellman
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Barry Wellman S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology NetLab Director
Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto
455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162
wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman
for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:22:05 -0400
From: Pesyna <[log in to unmask]>
To: Sloan Industry Studies Program <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [industrycenters] Meet the Fellows: Jason Owen-Smith
The third superb young scholar to whom I would like to introduce you in
this ongoing series about Sloan Industry Studies Fellows is Jason
Owen-Smith, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Organizational Studies
at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Professor Owen-Smith’s research examines institutional and
organizational change at the intersection of science and commerce. This
work draws on economic sociology, social network theory, and the
sociology of science and technology in order to consider the sources and
effects of innovation in complex technological and social systems. His
ongoing research projects focus on the dynamics of scientific and
technical decision-making in organizations, the implications of
widespread research commercialization for academic science and
engineering, and the evolution of the international human therapeutic
and diagnostic biotechnology industry. The last project emphasizes the
central role of strategic alliances and social network connections in
industry development
As a Sloan Industry Studies Fellow, Professor Owen-Smith will conduct
ethnographic field research to determine the behavioral underpinnings of
network tie formation in biotechnology. Research in Economic Sociology
suggests that firms forge connections for at least two reasons: (1) to
access information and resources unavailable within the boundaries of
the organization; and (2) to signal membership and status to third party
observers. In the context of the biotechnology industry, network ties
of the first sort are formed primarily as firms attempt to innovate on a
fast moving scientific frontier. In contrast, linkages of the second
sort are often used to convey information about value to investors and
analysts under conditions of uncertainty. In their purest form, these
two uses of networks are mutually exclusive. Thus, they have very
different implications for the structure and development of the
industry. Yet little is known about how strategic decision-makers
approach the formation and maintenance of particular
inter-organizational connections. Professor Owen-Smith’s work will
take initial steps to connect organizational and strategic concerns to
outcomes and to industry-wide network structures.
Professor Owen Smith is a recipient of the National Science Foundation
Faculty Early Career Development Award. He received a B.A. in Sociology
and Philosophy from the New College of Florida and his Ph.D. in
Sociology from the University of Arizona.
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