Dr. Nadine Arnold

Senior Reseracher and Lecturer
T +41 41 229 5668
nadine.arnold @ unilu.ch
Frohburgstrasse 3, Raum 3.A55
CV
Nadine Arnold received her doctorate in sociology from the University of Lucerne for a thesis about the organization and rationalization of fair trade in Switzerland. She worked as a research fellow in France at the École normale supérieure de Cachan (2014-2016) and the Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (2016-2017) as well as at the University of Uppsala (2019). She received lectureships at the TU Berlin as well as at the Universities of Zurich and Fribourg. Since 2019 she is Scientific Advisor of the doctoral program PROWEL of the Universities of Fribourg and Neuchâtel.
Nadine Arnold’s research interests lie in the fields of organization and institutional theory, economic sociology, valuation studies, as well as the sociology of standards. She is a member of the founding committee of the working group 'Organization and Valuation' of the section Organizational Sociology of the German Society of Sociology. Empirically, she deals with products (mostly food), organizations, and fields that combine social, environmental and economic interests. She has conducted research in Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Ghana, Kenya and the Ivory Coast. She is currently working on a research project that explores the role of standards and values for collectivization processes and the formation of a new field for food waste.
Research
Research interests:
- Sociology of organizations
- Institutional theory
- Economic sociology
- Sociology of valuation standards
- Qualitative research methods
Research projects (finished and ongoing):
- Mapping the Value of Fairtrade: Understanding business and market engagement in the banana, cocoa, and coffee value chains (Fairtrade International, co-funded by the European Commission 2019-2020)
- Inquiry-based learning: Food Waste exposed (Teaching and Learning Committee University of Lucerne ULEKO 2018-2019)
- Organization und Rationalization of Fair Trade (SNF-Project 2011-2014)
- Standards as Mediators of Governance. How Standardising is Shaping the Ghanaian Pineapple Industry (SNF Doc.Mobility Fellowship (2014-2015)
- Fair Trade in Switzerland: Co-evolution of field and standards 1970-2011 (SNF Early.Postdoc Mobility Fellowship 2016-2017)
- Participatory Analysis of the Use and Impact of the Fairtrade Premium (Research consultancy for Fairtrade International since 2017)
Publications
- Arnold, N. (2020). Accountability in transnational governance: The partial organization of voluntary sustainability standards in long‐term account‐giving. Regulation & Governance. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12357
- Arnold, N., & Loconto, A. (2020). Serving magically perfect fruit globally: local nesting in translating multiple standards. Organization Studies. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620935858
- Arnold, N., & Winterberger, F. (2020). „Praxis an der Uni“: Wie Forschendes Lernen in der Soziologie Berufsbezüge herstellt. die hochschullehre, 6 (18), 313–324. https://doi.org/10.3278/HSL2018W
- Arnold, N. (2019). Die Produzenten in moralisierten Märkten. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 48 (1), 70–91. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3248788
- Arnold, N. (2019). Experts and the sense of things. Local Environment, 24 (3), 289–294. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254980
- Sirdey, N., Maisonhaute, J., & Arnold, N. (2019). Should fair trade be practiced beyond international trade? The rise of domestic fair trade initiatives. Revue internationale des études du développement, 240 (4).
- Arnold, N., & Mormann, H. (2019). Zwischen Heuchelei und Heldentum. Zur Rolle von Organisationen in der sozial-ökologischen Transformation der Gesellschaft. Soziologie und Nachhaltigkeit, 5 (8). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3580433
- Arnold, N., & Hammer, I. (2018). Entschleunigte Ökonomisierung. Die Zählebigkeit alternativer Handelsorganisationen. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 44 (1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3248790
- Arnold, N., & Hasse, R. (2017). Die Organisation von Wertzuschreibungen. Zur Bedeutung von Drittparteien für die Signalisierung moralischer Qualitäten in Märkten. Berliner Journal für Soziologie, 16 (2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254984
- Arnold, N., & Hasse, R. (2015). The Escalation of Governance. Effects of Voluntary Standardization on Organizations, Markets and Standards in Swiss Fair Trade. Sociological Research Online, 20 (3). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254993
- Arnold, N., Hasse, R., & Mormann, H. (2020). Rationalisierung und Individualisierung. Wie Organisationen gesellschaftliche Werte verändern. In Hasse, Raimund & Krüger, Anne K. (Eds.), Neo-Institutionalismus: Kritik und Weiterentwicklung eines sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschungsprogramms (pp. 165–190). Bielefeld: transcript. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3695347
- Arnold, N. (2019). Organisation(en) von der Stange? Der Trend zu Standardisierung und Formalisierung. In Apelt, Maja, Hasse, Raimund, Meyer, Uli, Groddeck, Victoria, Wilkesmann, Maximiliane & Windeler, Arnold (Eds.), Handbuch Organisationssoziologie. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254978
- Arnold, N., & Soppe, B. (2017). From Contention to Mainstream. Valuing and Institutionalizing Moral Products. In Krücken, Georg, Mazza, Carmelo, Meyer, Renate & Walgenbach, Peter (Eds.), New Themes in Institutional Analysis: Topics and Issues from European Research (pp. 104–134). Cheltenham UK, Northampton MA, USA: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254982
- Arnold, N. (2014). The Evolution of Non-technical Standards: The Case of Fair Trade. In DeVaujany, François, Mitev, Nathalie, Laniray, Pierre & Vaast, Emmanuelle (Eds.), Materiality and Time: Organizations, Artefacts and Practices (pp. 59–78). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254995
- Arnold, N., Rüttiman, S., Wolf, N., & Foureault, F. (2020). Die organisationale Food-Waste-Landschaft.
- Arnold, N., Bennet, E., Blendin, M., Brochard, M., Carimentrand, A., Coulibaly, M., … Maisonhaute, J. etc. (2020). International Guide to Fair Trade Labels: Edition 2020.
- Loconto, A., Silva-Castenada, L., Arnold, N., & Jimenez, A. (18 July 2019). Participatory Analysis of the Use and Impact of the Fairtrade Premium. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3248813
- Arnold, N. (10 August 2019). Fairtrade rentiert nicht immer: Zu viele Produzenten – zu wenig Käufer. SRF News Wirtschaft. Retrieved from https://www.srf.ch/news/wirtschaft/fairtrade-rentiert-nicht-immer-zu-viele-produzenten-zu-wenig-kaeufer
- Arnold, N. (19 December 2018). Flüchtlingshelferin Gertrud Kurz schaute nicht zu – sie handelte. ref.ch. Retrieved from https://www.ref.ch/news/fluechtlingshelferin-gertrud-kurz-schaute-nicht-zu-sie-handelte/
- Arnold, N., & Arnold, F. (2018). Was würde Gertrud Kurz sagen zu... Cfd-Zeitung.
Achievements
- Sozialer Abfall im Zusammenspiel von Bewertung und Abfall. Lecture, Organisierte Personenbewertung, Fernuniversität Hagen, Online, 2020
- Genossenschaften. Lecture, Organisationstypen, Universität Bielefeld, Universität Potsdam, Online, 2020
- Organizing sustainability unconventionally. Lecture, 36. EGOS Colloquium, Universität Hamburg, Online, 2020
- Organizational responses to values: external effects and feedbacks. Lecture, 15th Annual New Institutionalism Workshop, Univeristät Uppsala, Schweden, Uppsala, 2019
- Competition between allies fighting against food waste. Lecture, Workshop on Competition, SCORE, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, 2019
- Field stability and change: The co-evolution of fields and organizations in the case of fair trade. Lecture, 35. EGOS Colloquium, EGOS, Edinburgh, 2019
- Rationalization and individualization. How organizations shape societal values. Lecture, Congrès de la société suisse de sociologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, 2019
- Moral struggles of field expansion: Navigating conflicting values in the case of fair trade. Lecture, Moral Critique in and around Markets: Organizing (for) Alternatives in Troubled Times, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, 2019
- Die Darstellung von Qualität in Märkten: Organisationale Strategien zur Bewältigung von Qualifizierungsproblemen. Lecture, DGS-Kongress, Sektion Wirtschaftssoziologie, Göttingen, 2018
- The presentation of quality in markets: Organizational strategies to address qualification problems. Lecture, ESA Economic Sociology Midterm Conference: Crossing Boundaries, ESA, Konstanz, 2018
- Die Aufrechterhaltung von Werten in Märkten. Organisationale Strategien zur Bewältigung von Qualifizierungsproblemen. Lecture, Frühjahrstagung, Sektion Organisationssoziologie, Bremen, 2018
- The waltz of the flowers: How material devices buttress the formation of value-based fields. Lecture, 14th Workshop on New Institutionalism in Organization Theory, Bocconi University, Mailand, 2018
- From street to shelves: Identity and change in the field of fair trade. Lecture, 34th EGOS Colloquium, European Group for Organizational Studies, Talinn, 2018
- Mobilizing metrics to advance accountability: an organizational perspective. Lecture, ISA Summer Institute on Critical Studies of Environmental Governance, International Sociological Association, Toronto, 2018
- Soziale Nachhaltigkeit am Rand oder die organisationale Rationalisierung im globalen Süden. Lecture, Kongress der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Zürich, 2017
- Serving the perfect fruit from the tropics: organizing (in)visibilities and creating additives. Lecture, 12th Organization Studies Workshop, Organization Studies, Chania, 2017
- Materializing morality: the creation of a new concerned market field. Lecture, OAP Workshop on Materiality and Institutions, OAP, Lissabon, 2016
- Rules in the south - status in the north. Organizing fair market relations through voluntary standards. Lecture, 3rd Witten Conference on institutional change, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, 2016
- The rationality of standardization. Lecture, 12th Workshop on New Institutionalism in Organization Theory, Universität Luzern, Luzern, 2016
- Organisation von Vertrauensqualitäten. Lecture, Workshop "Soziologie der Bewertung", Universität Bremen, Bremen, 2015
- "Fertig gsändelet jetzt wird ghändelet". Ökonomisierungstendenzen im alternativen Handel. Poster, 5. Networking Day, „QualiZüri“, Universität Zürich, Zürich, 2015
- The making of sustainability-oriented products. Lecture, 30th EGOS Colloquium, EGOS, Rotterdam, 2014
- Market constitution and control by third parties. Lecture, International Conference on Organizing Markets, SCORE, Stockholm, 2014
- Not (just) an alternative to markets and hierarchies: certification standards in the fair trade sector. Lecture, The causes and consequences of private governance: the changing roles of state and private actors, Universität Mannheim, Mannheim, 2014
- Fairtrade standards: traces of fair trade history. Lecture, OAP Workshop on Time, History and Materiality in Management and Organization Studies, OAP, London, 2013
- PROWEL Workshop, Event chair, Fribourg, online, 2020
- How organizations realize and shape values, Panel organisation, Neuchâtel, 2019
- Organisationstypen und Bewertung, Member of organisation committee, Bremen, 2019
- 'Imagining better food futures’: ethics, responsibility and accountability in food systems, Panel organisation, Trondheim, 2019
- Organisationsgesellschaft »reloaded«, Member of organisation committee, Luzern, 2019
- PROWEL Workshop, Event chair, Twann, 2019
- Constructing Organizations and Standards, Member of organisation committee, Luzern, 2013
- Wenn Standards übersetzen oder übersetzt werden müssen. Workshop "Organisation und Übersetzungstheorie", Bielefeld, online, 2021
- Organisation und Abfall. Organisationssoziologisches Kolloquium, Berlin/online, 2021
- Forschendes Lernen in der Soziologie: Das "Food-Waste-Projekt" Tagung "Forschungsorientierung in Studium und Lehre, Luzern, online, 2021
- Taking a look behind magically perfect fruit: How producers translate multiple standards. Sustainable Consumption Brown Bag Talk Series, Université den Genève, 2020
- Mobilizing standards to advance accountability: a partial organization perspective. New Directions in Agri-Environmental Governance, Neuchâtel, 2019
- Neo-Institutionalism. Past - Present - Future. PROWEL-Workshop, Twann, 2019
- Was passiert eigentlich mit der Fairtrade-Prämie? Kaffee-Kongress, Berlin, 2019
- Podiumsdiskussion: Fair kaufen – wie wirkt sich meine Kaufentscheidung auf den Globalen Süden aus? Fair begegnen - Fair gestalten. Kongress der Ideen und Taten, Köln, 2019
- Participatory Analysis of the Use and Impact of the Fairtrade Premium. MEL Meeting Fairtrade International, Bonn, 2018
- Die perfekte Frucht aus den Tropen. Verschachtelte Standardisierung als Organisationsinstrument. Forschungskolloquium Soziologie, Luzern, 2018
- Participatory Analysis of the Use and Impact of the Fairtrade Premium. Lizenz- und Handelspartner Treffen, Köln, 2018
- Serving Magically Perfect Fruit: Nesting Standards and Invoking Addititives. Forschungskolloquium Organization Studies, Innsbruck, 2019
- Wie gelingt es Claro und den Weltläden ihren sozialen Zielstellungen in einer zunehmend ökonomisierten Welt treu zu bleiben? 40 Jahre Jubiläum claro, Bern, 2017
- Valuing and institutionalizing moral products. Brownbag Seminar ESSEC Business School, Paris, 2015
- La standardisation formelle et ses conséquences pour la coordination d’un champ organisationnel: Preuves empiriques du développement historique due commerce equitable en Suisse. Colloque IDHES, Paris, 2014