The business of science: Emergent careers in industrial chemical research.

摘要

Sociological research on science in industry has generally focused on the incompatibility of the institutions of science and industry. Sociologists believe scientific work in industry to be characterized by substantial strain and conflict between the norms of science and business. They believe that scientists trained in the norms and expectations of academia resist the restrictions placed on their work by the organization and are therefore highly alienated from their work. Conversely, those sociologists who have found little conflict in industrial research assert that those scientists who turn to industry for a career are less socialized into the academic model, or are in some other way different from academic scientists.;The findings for this study are based on forty-five in-depth interviews with Ph.D. industrial chemists. The study focuses on thirty of these chemists, who are employed at a medium sized specialty chemical company. The remaining fifteen chemists work for either a large pharmaceutical company or a major oil producer. The chemists interviewed range in years of work experience from one to twenty-five, and in title from research chemist to vice president of research.;The findings for this study are that the effects of socialization from graduate school do not remain throughout a scientist's career. Rather, the definition of a successful scientist and thus career ambition are modified, refined, and developed within the organization. New doctoral recipients enter industry with vague understandings of what to expect from industrial careers, therefore they express little conflict in their work. Their early experiences within the organization provide them with strategies for succeeding in their careers, and understandings of what it means to be an industrial scientist.;Scientists do not, however, completely abandon their early socialization. They seek to retain as much control as possible over the composition of their work as defined by the organization. Scientific norms are thus redefined to fit the exigencies of the organization. Scientists value autonomy in research, open communication, and they seek approval of the scientific community. These values are, however, reworked within the parameters of the organizational career, resulting in a hybridization of the roles of employee and scientist.