A World of Meta-Organizations
Published on 19. May 2026
Book
Hardback
258 pages
978-1-0353-4221-1 (ISBN)
Description
Meta-organizations - organizations with other organizations as members - are everywhere. They exert significant influence over markets, public policies and their own members.
In this insightful book, the authors argue that the contemporary world cannot be fully understood without understanding how meta-organizations function. They explain why meta-organizations are established, what they do and how they achieve their societal impact. Chapters describe and analyse meta-organizations in various social sectors and with various levels of outreach, from the G20 and Mercosur to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, regional collectives of music festivals and women's cause associations.
This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students researching management, organization studies, sociology, political science and international relations. It will greatly benefit practitioners in organizational management and public policy, as well as journalists and social action groups interested in how the contemporary world is organized and governed.
In this insightful book, the authors argue that the contemporary world cannot be fully understood without understanding how meta-organizations function. They explain why meta-organizations are established, what they do and how they achieve their societal impact. Chapters describe and analyse meta-organizations in various social sectors and with various levels of outreach, from the G20 and Mercosur to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, regional collectives of music festivals and women's cause associations.
This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students researching management, organization studies, sociology, political science and international relations. It will greatly benefit practitioners in organizational management and public policy, as well as journalists and social action groups interested in how the contemporary world is organized and governed.
Reviews / Votes
'The book offers a great overview of two decades of conceptual advancement and empirical studies exploring a diverse range of meta-organizations. This volume advances our knowledge about meta-organizations and points to future research opportunities of outstanding interest, benefitting not only organization theorists, but also students of economics, political science, sociology and industrial relations.' -- Joerg Sydow, Freie Universitaet Berlin, GermanyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-4221-1 (9781035342211)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by Heloise Berkowitz, LEST, CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Aix en Provence, France, Sanne Bor, LUT University, Finland and Nils Brunsson, Uppsala University and Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research (Score), Sweden
Content
Contents
Preface xvii
1 What meta-organizations are 1
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson
2 How meta-organizations matter 15
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson
PART I HOW META-ORGANIZATIONS AFFECT THEIR MEMBERS
3 What are meta-organizations allowed to do? Dimensions and
dynamics of mandates 29
Sanne Bor and Ville-Pekka Sorsa
4 Who does the job? Workforces of meta-organizations 45
Sanne Bor and Argyro Almpanopoulou
5 Unnoticed, ghosted, and scapegoated: a study of weakened
meta-organization-member relationships 71
Susanna Alexius
PART II HOW META-ORGANIZATIONS AFFECT OTHERS
6 Building meta-organizational expertise: The case of the
Collectif des Festivals' sustainability expertise 98
Sihem Mammar El Hadj, Laura Sabbado, and Ingrid Mazzilli
7 How meta-organizations influence their social environment:
the case of the International Council for the Exploration of
the Sea 122
Kurt Rachlitz, Michael Grothe-Hammer, and Jennifer Leigh Bailey
8 Meta-organizations and the making of a neocolonialist global
order 149
Jose Augusto Lacerda Fernandes, Mariana Baldi, Fernando
Dias Lopes, and Heloise Berkowitz
PART III LANDSCAPES OF META-ORGANIZATIONS
9 Meta-organizations and other inter-organizational
arrangements in the French women's cause field 172
Pierre Garaudel, Clotilde Coron, and Geraldine Schmidt
10 International groups in organizing world politics: the case of
the G20 193
Martin Koch
PART IV WHAT NEXT?
11 More to learn about meta-organizations! 213
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson
Preface xvii
1 What meta-organizations are 1
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson
2 How meta-organizations matter 15
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson
PART I HOW META-ORGANIZATIONS AFFECT THEIR MEMBERS
3 What are meta-organizations allowed to do? Dimensions and
dynamics of mandates 29
Sanne Bor and Ville-Pekka Sorsa
4 Who does the job? Workforces of meta-organizations 45
Sanne Bor and Argyro Almpanopoulou
5 Unnoticed, ghosted, and scapegoated: a study of weakened
meta-organization-member relationships 71
Susanna Alexius
PART II HOW META-ORGANIZATIONS AFFECT OTHERS
6 Building meta-organizational expertise: The case of the
Collectif des Festivals' sustainability expertise 98
Sihem Mammar El Hadj, Laura Sabbado, and Ingrid Mazzilli
7 How meta-organizations influence their social environment:
the case of the International Council for the Exploration of
the Sea 122
Kurt Rachlitz, Michael Grothe-Hammer, and Jennifer Leigh Bailey
8 Meta-organizations and the making of a neocolonialist global
order 149
Jose Augusto Lacerda Fernandes, Mariana Baldi, Fernando
Dias Lopes, and Heloise Berkowitz
PART III LANDSCAPES OF META-ORGANIZATIONS
9 Meta-organizations and other inter-organizational
arrangements in the French women's cause field 172
Pierre Garaudel, Clotilde Coron, and Geraldine Schmidt
10 International groups in organizing world politics: the case of
the G20 193
Martin Koch
PART IV WHAT NEXT?
11 More to learn about meta-organizations! 213
Heloise Berkowitz, Sanne Bor, and Nils Brunsson