A Society of Meta-Organizations - cover image

Copyright

Héloïse Berkowitz

Published On

2026-02-12

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-771-1
Hardback978-1-80511-772-8
PDF978-1-80511-773-5
HTML978-1-80511-775-9
EPUB978-1-80511-774-2

Language

  • English

Print Length

160 pages (xvi+144)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 9 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.35" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 11 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.43" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback238g (8.40oz)
Hardback407g (14.36oz)

Media

Illustrations5
Tables11

Funding

THEMA

  • J
  • JHB
  • JPP
  • RNU
  • JPS

BISAC

  • BUS085000
  • BUS035000
  • BUS042000
  • SOC026000

Keywords

  • Meta-organizations
  • Social orders
  • Organizational theory
  • Collective governance
  • Sustainability transitions

A Society of Meta-Organizations

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.

Additional Resources

[document]EPUB Accessibility Report

Contributors

Héloïse Berkowitz

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9652-0841
https://lest.fr/fr/equipe/recherche/heloise-berkowitz

Dr Héloïse Berkowitz is a research fellow at CNRS (LEST, Aix Marseille University), France and senior researcher at IBEI, Spain. She holds a Phd in management science from Ecole Polytechnique and a research habilitation (HDR) from Aix Marseille Univ. Her research deals with transitions to sustainability, with a focus on sectoral governance and collective action among organizations (meta-organizations), in various empirical settings from natural resources to collaborative economy or ocean sustainability. She co-founded the Peer Community in Organization Studies. In 2022, she received the CNRS medal of Bronze for her work on meta-organization and socio-ecological transitions.