The Asymmetric Society Revisited

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 13. Organizations at the micro/meso/macro interface

Abstract

James Coleman (1982) argues that we live in an asymmetric society; a society in which organizations play a central role while the individual’s role has become increasingly diminished. Others have suggested more nuanced views in which individuals are increasingly legitimate actors (the individual actorhood view) or that complementarity exists in which the activities of organizations provide some benefit for individual actors (the complementary view). Arguments concerning the prominence of organizations and individuals in patenting reflect these broader perspectives. Using novel data on patents issued in the United States from 1981 to 2010, this study examines whether the dominant view regarding asymmetry between organizational and individual (i.e., independent) patenting continues to persist, or whether the individual actorhood or complementary perspectives are more relevant. Results from the analyses provide the most support for the complementary view, showing that organizational activities are positively associated with individual patents. Nevertheless, the asymmetric and individual actorhood views also figure prominently into the paper’s conclusions as well.

Author

• Eric C. Dahlin, Brigham Young University