Thoth distribution@thoth.pub 20260407T150927

urn:uuid:94ddce11-435d-4f94-a758-f6e3c1cc9783 03 01 01 urn:uuid:94ddce11-435d-4f94-a758-f6e3c1cc9783 15 9781805117735 06 10.11647/OBP.0505 00 EB E107 10 Creative Commons License 02 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 01 01 A Society of Meta-Organizations 1 A01 21 0000-0001-9652-0841 Héloïse Berkowitz First edition. 01 eng 00 160 03 10 BUS085000 04 HS35 93 J B2 Politics and Sociology 10 BUS035000 B2 Business and Management 93 JHB 10 BUS042000 B2 History: International Relations 93 JPP 93 RNU 10 SOC026000 93 JPS 01 06 03 00 Our contemporary societies are made of meta-organizations — organizations composed of other organizations. These range from international bodies like the International Whaling Commission, to national industry or business associations like the crowdfunding association Finance Participative France, to local associations such as fisheries co-management committees in Catalunya. Meta-organizations have become a defining feature of how actors coordinate, govern and make collective decisions. But what exactly makes them distinct, and why do they matter — both in theory and in practice?This book delves into the importance, characteristics and diversity of meta-organizations. It explores four interrelated perspectives: meta-organizations as a widespread, heterogeneous empirical phenomenon in contemporary society, as a conceptual framework that raises specific methodological challenges, as part of a broader theory of decision-based social orders, and ultimately as arenas where hegemonic and counter-hegemonic dynamics may unfold.By bridging theory and practice, this work offers new insights into how meta-organizations operate, how they can be studied and understood, the problems they raise and what they can achieve under certain conditions — making it essential reading for practitioners, students, scholars, and policymakers alike. 04 00 List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments Preface 1. Why Study Meta-Organizations? The context Motivations of the book: A distinctive meta-organizational approach 2. Meta-Organization as an Important Empirical Phenomenon in Contemporary Societies Meta-organizations are everywhere and are numerous Analysing the diversity of meta-organizations The significance of meta-organizations for contemporary societies: Roles and activities of meta-organizations Conclusion 3. The Conceptual Specificities of the Society of Meta-Organizations Why do meta-organizations matter as a dedicated concept? Methodological challenges of studying meta-organizations Developing a meta-organizational analytical perspective Conclusion 4. Theorizing Meta-Organizations and Social Orders The decisional perspective on social orders From infra- to (meta-)organizationality: An integrated framework Conclusion 5. Meta-Organizations as Spaces for (Counter)-Hegemonic Dynamics Imperatives and paradoxes of meta-organizations and transformations of social orders Meta-organization, macro-organization and the proliferation of ‘organizational monsters’ Shifting paradigms and imagining alternatives Conclusion 6. Meta-Organizations and the Transformations of Social Orders The manifestations and consequences of meta-organizational proliferation Meta-organizing sustainable transformations of social orders in territories Decisional and alternative organizing among organizations Conclusion Partial Glossary of Concepts References Index 20 00 Open Access Open Book Publishers 01 Open Book Publishers 16 Aix-Marseille Université Cambridge, UK 04 01 20260212 2026 06 15 9781805117711 06 15 9781805117728 06 15 9781805117735 06 15 9781805117759 06 15 9781805117742 09 Open Book Publishers 02 Publisher's website: web shop https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/OBP.0505 99 01 09 Open Book Publishers 29 Publisher's website: download the title https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0505.pdf 99 01