“The Sense of Dissonance is an important and refreshing contribution to both economic sociology and organizational sociology, introducing a wealth of new concepts, ideas, and lines of thinking.”—Olav Velthuis, American Journal of Sociology
“Stark’s ideas about the value of play, ambiguity, and uncertainty are particularly provocative and far-reaching.”
—Brooke Harrington, Contexts
“[S]mart and ambitious. . . . [This book] constitutes an important contribution to the most cutting-edge debates of contemporary economic sociology and organization theory.”
—Pierre François, European Economic Sociology Newsletter
“Stark gave us a book both theoretically very deep, pleasant to read, and rich in empirical details.”
—Filippo Barbera, Sociologica
“
The Sense of Dissonance is a great book, and I recommend it warmly. . . . Like most great achievements, Stark’s book opens up more questions than it answers and leaves its readers with important puzzles.”—Petter Holm, Administrative Science Quarterly
“In this book, Stark takes the reader on a fascinating journey of discovery, from the socialist factories of Eastern Europe to the new media companies and financial trading floors of Manhattan. The Sense of Dissonance is equally a book about how organizations really work and how we should think about the problem of organization―a great accomplishment.”―Duncan Watts, author of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
“For many readers, the most powerful demonstration of the ever-present duality of value and values will be Stark’s field research on the impact of the 9/11 tragedy on one financial firm that lost hundreds of employees that day. Stark recounts the process by which the firm rebuilt its business through the painful and cathartic narratives of those lost and of those who survived. A moving analysis that redresses Dewey’s paradox of the emotive and evaluative.”
―Bruce Kogut, Columbia Business School
“At a time when global crises have shattered standard accounts of economic life, David Stark’s
The Sense of Dissonance offers powerful alternative explanations of economic activity along with specific prescriptions for twenty-first-century economic survival. Taking us into the varied worlds of Hungarian toolmakers, Manhattan Silicon Alley new media workers, and Wall Street arbitrage traders, Stark deftly grounds theoretical insights with marvelous ethnographic accounts. This book instructs and inspires.”―Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
“This wonderful, lively, and personal book is packed with insights for economic sociology and general sociological theory. A mature statement by a leading sociologist, it is also a delight to read.”
―Walter W. Powell, Stanford University
“This is an important book about an important topic―and it has a strong narrative and impressive, engaging ethnography.”
―Michèle Lamont, Harvard University
From the Back Cover
“In this book, Stark takes the reader on a fascinating journey of discovery, from the socialist factories of Eastern Europe to the new media companies and financial trading floors of Manhattan. The Sense of Dissonance is equally a book about how organizations really work and how we should think about the problem of organization–a great accomplishment.”–Duncan Watts, author of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
“For many readers, the most powerful demonstration of the ever-present duality of value and values will be Stark’s field research on the impact of the 9/11 tragedy on one financial firm that lost hundreds of employees that day. Stark recounts the process by which the firm rebuilt its business through the painful and cathartic narratives of those lost and of those who survived. A moving analysis that redresses Dewey’s paradox of the emotive and evaluative.”–Bruce Kogut, Columbia Business School
“At a time when global crises have shattered standard accounts of economic life, David Stark’s The Sense of Dissonance offers powerful alternative explanations of economic activity along with specific prescriptions for twenty-first-century economic survival. Taking us into the varied worlds of Hungarian toolmakers, Manhattan Silicon Alley new media workers, and Wall Street arbitrage traders, Stark deftly grounds theoretical insights with marvelous ethnographic accounts. This book instructs and inspires.”–Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
“This wonderful, lively, and personal book is packed with insights for economic sociology and general sociological theory. A mature statement by a leading sociologist, it is also a delight to read.”–Walter W. Powell, Stanford University
“This is an important book about an important topic–and it has a strong narrative and impressive, engaging ethnography.”–Michèle Lamont, Harvard University
About the Author
David Stark is the Arthur Lehman Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Columbia University, where he chairs the Department of Sociology and directs the Center on Organizational Innovation. He is the coauthor of Postsocialist Pathways.
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