The Social Study of Corporate Science: A Research Manifesto

Abstract

Laboratory ethnographies have provided valuable insights in the workings of contemporary science and technology and about facts in the making. Nearly all these ethnographic studies have been conducted at nonprofit research institutes. In this article, the authors argue that it is time for science and technology studies (STS) ethnography to direct its gaze toward for-profit knowledge production sites. The authors do so, based on a long-standing recognition that nonprofit academic laboratories do not have a monopoly on knowledge construction. First, they historicize STS’ focus on public knowledge production, distinguishing between two roles for STS. Second, they argue that relationships between industry and society have changed, resulting in increasing corporate transparency. Third, they argue that this change enables STS ethnography to enter corporations and corporate laboratories. The authors conclude by proposing a research agenda for the social study of corporate science.

Credibility Engineering in the Food Industry: Linking Science, Regulation, and Marketing in a Corporate Context

“…In the words of Knorr Cetina, both we and Lehenkari have been studying transepistemic arenas in which credibility will have to be tied into local relevance, which can and will be very different from the ones in R&D and which require continuous maintenance (Knorr Cetina 1982). Especially the discrepancies between Sismondo's and our analysis show that credibility engineering is a worthwhile starting point for a series of social studies of corporate science (Penders et al 2009). Different industries may mobilize different sets of strategies, based upon whether consumers and peers overlap (as they do in pharma), or the degree of heterogeneity present in the fields they are active in.…”

“…Such corporate laboratories remain understudied (Penders et al 2009;Shapin 2008). We are interested in this perspective for two reasons.…”

A cybernetic dream: how a crisis in social sciences leads us to a Communication for Innovation-Laboratory

“…So social sciences are at the crossroads between being a more instrumental natural science or part of more reflexive humanities 1 [Penders, Verbakel and Nelis, 2009]. Kropp and Blok [2011] state: "Given that most Mode-2 discussion takes place in reference to natural and technical sciences, this also implies an urgent need for more studies of transformed dynamics of knowledge production in the humanities and the social sciences."…”

“…A discussion that analogously has also been raised, compares STS as a movement, with STS as a field of study[Penders, Verbakel and Nelis, 2009].…”

Exploring Responsible Innovation as a Guiding Concept: The Case of Neuroimaging in Justice and Security

“…It is precisely corporate innovation, which is underrepresented in current research (cf. Penders et al 2009). An additional problem is that empirical evidence how to put responsible innovation into practice is still scarce (Chap.…”