Release | Multifunctional organisation. A systems-theoretical concept and its practical implications

Abstract: Purpose: This Theory Transfer and Impact Article addresses a paradox in how organisations are observed and theorised: while governments are assumed to be political, schools educational, and firms economic, these same organisations often act across multiple functional domains—accumulating capital, performing research, or exercising power. The article proposes the concept of the multifunctional organisation to […]

Release | Special issue of Current Sociology on “Guiding distinctions of social theory. Analogue guidelines or digital transformers?”

Special Luhmann Conference 2024 issue of Current Sociology on the theme of “Guiding distinctions of social theory. Analogue guidelines or digital transformers?” Click here for the issue as published on the Current Sociology website. Contributions: Editorial: Steffen Roth, Steve Watson, Harry Dahms, and Arthur Atanesyan: Guiding distinctions of social theory. Analogue guidelines or digital transformers? […]

Membership | Wolfson College, University of Cambridge

I am honoured to be joining Wolfson College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, as a Visiting Fellow today! See you at Wolfson, for instance for our Niklas Luhmann Reading Group meeting in mid-April.

Release | Special Luhmann Conference double issue of SRBS on “Environments” and “Guiding distinctions”. Observed with social systems theory

Special Luhmann Conferences 2023 and 2024 double issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science on “Environments” and “Guiding distinctions”. Observed with Social Systems Theory The proofs of the full special double issue are available for download here (PDF 8.2 Mb), while the issue is also available on the official SRBS website. Luhmann Conference 2023: Environments: […]

Release | Value Plurality and Multifunctional Commensuration in Organisation: A Systems-Theoretical Approach

Abstract: This article aims to challenge the prevailing economic bias in studies of organised valuation and commensuration by exploring the broader plurality of values that organisations must manage. The article draws on social systems theory in the tradition of German sociologist Niklas Luhmann to conceptualise organisations as multifunctional systems of decisions that pertain to and […]

CFP | Luhmann Conference 2025 in Cambridge

Call for papers to the Luhmann Conference 2025 Topic: Programmes. Observed with social systems theory Venue: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Submission deadline (abstracts): 15 May 2025Conference dates: 09-12 September 2025Pre-conference dinner: 08 September 2025 Supported by the Next Society Institute at Kazimieras Simonavicius University, European Sociological Association and the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik. To download this Call for Papers, please click […]

Release | Guiding distinctions of social theory: results from two online brainstormings and one quantitative analysis of the ISA Books of the XX Century corpus

Abstract: In this paper, we report on the results of two online brainstormings that have collected over 480 and over 219 guiding distinctions of social theory, respectively. We draw on the results of these brainstormings as well as on a quantitative analysis of the Top 100 sociological groundworks as listed in the ISA Books of the XX […]

Release | The matrix reloaded. A revised framework for the inference of the four basic forms of social differentiation

Abstract: This paper revisits and refines Niklas Luhmann’s framework for understanding social differentiation, addressing unresolved ambiguities in his original theory. Luhmann’s approach, which initially identified three core forms of social differentiation—segmentation, stratification, and functional differentiation—expanded to include a fourth form, centralization. By critically examining the theoretical underpinnings and limitations of Luhmann’s distinctions, this study shows […]

Release | Family businesses and business families in cultural context: interdisciplinary updates for family business research

Abstract: This article shows that business family and family business research is dominated by reductionist and biased concepts of culture that are in sharp contrast with recent advances in anthropology and the broader social sciences that would allow for more fine-grained analyses. Through an inbound theorizing approach, state-of-the-art anthropological and sociological concepts of culture are […]