Universities and the market economy: The differential impact on knowledge production in sociology and economics

Based on the conceptual framework of Pierre Bourdieu, this study compares the impact of pressure to develop ties with non-academic organisations on two fields of research, namely: sociology and economics. The study highlights the dynamics particular to each discipline and shows that a sound understanding of transformations affecting university research cannot exclude analysis of the specificity of each one. Two cohorts of professors were studied in two Quebec universities: the first cohort was made up of professors who received tenure between 1974 and 1983, and the second between 1989 and 1998. The results suggest that pressures in favor of partnership with non-academic organisations have not had the same impact in sociology and economics. While research practices have undergone transformations in each discipline, the nature of these transformations differs in an important way. The results also contradict two popular models in knowledge production studies, which are the Entrepreneurial Science, and Mode 1/Mode 2 models. Although these models claim that academic research orientation has become geared towards problem-solving, our results indicate, however, that the opposite trend has been taking place in sociology and economics.