professor dr stefanie hiß

research profile/ research interests

Economic sociology/ rating, credit, scoring
Sociology of markets/ sociology of financial markets, socially responsible investment
Sociology of organizations: corporate social responsibility, social standards
Environmental sociology/ sustainability, environmental standards
Institutional theory/ new institutionalism in sociology
Sociology of work and industry/ work in the financial sector
Political sociology/ social movements, NGOs
International Political Economy/ Financialisation

vita

academic background

Since winter term 2012/2013
Full Professor (W3), Sociology of Markets, Organizations and Governance

since 06/2012
Senior Academic Affiliate at the Center for Research on Gender in the Professions, University of California, San Diego, US

01/2012-06-2012 Visiting Fellow at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University

Since winter term 2009/2010
Assistant Professor (W1) of Economic Sociology/ Sociology of Financial Markets
Schumpeter Fellow, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation
Head of the Junior Research Group 'Sustainability and Financial Markets - Institutional Arrangements and Patterns of Perception (NaFin)'

02/2007-09/2009
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Researcher [Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin], and Assistant Professor [Akademische Rätin a.Z.) at the Department of Sociology II and in the Research Training Group (German Research Foundation) 'Markets and Social Systems in Europe' at the University of Bamberg

09/2005-01/2007
Researcher [Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin] at the Max Planch Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne

10/2002-08/2005
Ph.D. student in the Research Training Group 'Markets and Social Systems in Europe' at the University of Bamberg

03/2004-08/2004
Marie Curie Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR) at the University of Warwick, UK

07/2003-10/2003
DAAD Visiting Research Fellow at the Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

10/1994-09/2002
Studies in Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Law, and South Asian Studies at the Universities in Frankfurt am Main and Heidelberg

academic degrees

12/2005
Ph.D. in Sociology [Dr. rer. pol.] at the University of Bamberg [summa cum laude]
Committee: Prof. Dr. Richard Münch, Prof. Dr. Lothar Brock)
Dissertation: Corporate Social Responsibility - ein Mythos? Reichweite und Grenzen des Neoinstitutionalismus als Erklärungsinstrument. [Corporate Social Responsibility - a Myth? Scope and Limits of the New Institutionalism in Sociology.]
Winner of the 2006 PhD Award of the University of Bamberg

12/2002
MA [Diplom] Political Science at the University Frankfurt am Main

09/2002
MSc Econ [Diplom] Economics at the University Frankfurt am Main

courses

Economic sociology (graduate course; course language: English)

Courses in the summer term 2010

Sociology of Markets (graduate course)

Corporate Social Responsibility (graduate course)

research activities

current research projects

NaFin - Sustainability and Financial Markets - Institutional Arrangements and Patterns of Perception, funded by VolkswagenFoundation, funding initiative Schumpeter-Fellowships
Duration: October 2009 - September 2014

Institutionalization of public interests in private corporations, funded by the University of Jena
Duration: July 2011 - June 2013

Rating and Rating agencies, funded by Hans Boeckler Foundation
Duration: June 2010 - March 2011

publications

books

Hiss, Stefanie/ Nagel, Sebastian (2012): Ratingagenturen zwischen Krise und Regulierung. [Rating Agencies Between Crisis and Regulation.] Baden-Baden: Nomos.

Hiss, Stefanie (2006): Warum übernehmen Unternehmen gesellschaftliche Verantwortung? Ein soziologischer Erklärungsversuch. [Why Do Corporations Act Socially Responsible? A Sociological Perspective.] Dissertation. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.

editorials

Beyer, Jürgen/ Hiss, Stefanie (2007): Unternehmen zwischen Aktionärsinteresse und sozialer Verantwortung. [Corporations Between Social Responsibility and Shareholder Value.] Berliner Debatte Initial, Special Issue 18 (4/5).

Gad, Gerhard/ Hiss, Stefanie/ Wienhardt, Thomas (2005): Wirtschaft, Ethik und Entwicklung - Wie passt das zusammen? [Business, Ethics, and Development - How Does it Fit?] Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin.

journal articles

Hiss, Stefanie/ Rona-Tas, Akos (2011): Wie entstehen Preise? Zur Lösung des Bewertungsproblems auf dem Markt für Ratingurteile strukturierter Finanzprodukte. [The Making of Prices. How the Valuation Problem is Solved on the Market for the Rating of Structured Finance Products.] In: Berliner Journal für Soziologie 21(4): 469-494.

Rona-Tas, Akos/ Hiss, Stefanie (2010): The Role of Ratings in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis: The Art of Corporate and the Science of Consumer Credit Rating. In: Lounsbury, Michael/ Hirsch, Paul M. (eds.) Markets on Trial. The Economic Sociology of the U.S. Financial Crisis. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 30A: 115-155.

Róna-Tas, Ákos/ Hiss, Stefanie (2010): Das Kreditrating von Verbrauchern und Unternehmen und die Subprime-Krise in den USA mit Lehren für Deutschland. [Consumer and Corporate Credit Ratings and the Subprime Crisis in the U.S. with Some Lessons for Germany.] In: Informatik-Spektrum 33(3): 241-261.
-> German Reprint of the Study prepared to the SCHUFA 2008

Hiß, Stefanie (2009): Corporate Social Responsibility - Innovation oder Tradition? Zum Wandel der gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Unternehmen in Deutschland. [Corporate Social Responsibility - Innovation or Tradition? The Transformation of Societal Responsibility of Corporations.] In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik [Journal for Business, Economics and Ethics] 10(3): 287-303.

Hiß, Stefanie (2009): Zum Wandel von Arbeit und Expertentum im Finanzsystem - das Beispiel der Ratinganalysten. [Changing work and expertise in the financial system - the example of rating analysts] In: Arbeits- und Industriesoziologische Studien 2 (2): 5-16.

Hiss, Stefanie (2009): From Implicit to Explicit Corporate Social Responsibility - Institutional Change as a Fight for Myths. In: Business Ethics Quarterly, Special Issue on "The Changing Role of Business in a Global Society: New Challenges and Responsibilities" Vol. 19(3): 433- 451.

Hiss, Stefanie (2007): Corporate Social Responsibility - Über die Durchsetzung von Stakeholder-Interessen im Shareholder-Kapitalismus. [Corporate Sopcial Responsibility - How to Enforce the Stakeholders' Interests in Shareholder Capitalism.] In: Berliner Debatte Initial 18 (4/5), 6-15.

Hiss, Stefanie (2006): Does Corporate Social Responsibility Need Social Capital? In: Journal of Corporate Citizenship 23, 81-91.

Hiss, Stefanie (2005): Durch Reden zum Handeln?! Zur Rolle freiwilliger Unternehmensinitiativen bei der Verbreitung von Sozialstandards. [From Talking the Walk to Walking the Talk?! The Role of Voluntary Initiatives of Multinational Firms for the Diffusion of Social Standards.] In: Journal for Business, Economics and Ethics 6/2, 215-230.

book chapters

Hiss, Stefanie (2012): Konfligierende Rationalitäten - wie Nachhaltigkeit die Rationalitätsordnung des Finanzmarktes irritiert. [Conflicting Rationalities - How Sustainability Confuses the Financial Market's Order of Rationality.] In: Engels, Anita/ Knoll, Lisa (Hg.): Wirtschaftliche Rationalität: Soziologische Perspektiven. [Economic Rationality: Sociological Perspectives.] Wiesbaden: SpringerVS: 85-107.

Hiss, Stefanie/ Kunzlmann, Jakob (2011): Nachhaltigkeitsaccounting - Initiativen zur Integration von Nachhaltigkeit in den Geschäftsbericht. [Sustainability Accounting. Initiatives Integrating Sustainability into Annual Reports.] In: Burckhardt, Gisela (Hg.): Mythos CSR: Unternehmensverantwortung und Regulierungslücken. [Myth CSR. Corporate Responsibility and Regulatory Shortcomings.] Bonn: Horlemann Verlag: 200-204.

Rona-Tas, Akos/ Hiss, Stefanie (2011): Forecasting as Valuation: The Role of Ratings and Predictions in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis in the US. In: Beckert, Jens/ Aspers, Patrik: The Worth of Goods. Valuation and Pricing in the Economy. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 223-246.

Hiss, Stefanie (2011): Globale Finanzmärkte und nachhaltiges Investieren. [Global Financial Markets and Responsible Investment.] In: Groß, Matthias (ed.): Handbuch Umweltsoziologie. [Handbook Environmental Sociology.] Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. 651-670.

Hiss, Stefanie (2010): Wo bleibt der Weltfinanzklimabericht? Zur zivilgesellschaftlichen Kritikfähigkeit von Finanzmarktrisiken. [Waiting for the World Financial Climate Change Report. What Do German Civil Society Organizations Have to Say About Global Financial Risks?], In: Soeffner, Hans-Georg (ed.): Unsichere Zeiten: Herausforderungen gesellschaftlicher Transformationen. [Uncertain Times: Challenging societal transformations.] Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag.

Hiss, Stefanie/ Curbach, Janina (2010): Einleitung zur Ad-hoc-Gruppe: Transformationen unternehmerischer Verantwortung. Zum Wandel von Corporate Social Responsibility vor dem Hintergrund der Spielarten des Kapitalismus. [Introduction to the Ad hoc group: Transformations of corporate social responsibility and Varieties of Capitalism]. In: Soeffner, Hans-Georg (Hg.): Unsichere Zeiten: Herausforderungen gesellschaftlicher Transformationen. [Uncertain Times: Challenging societal transformations.] Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag. CD-ROM.

Hiss, Stefanie (2010): Spielarten der institutionellen Verankerung von Corporate Social Responsibility. [Varieties of Corporate Social Responsibility.] In: Soeffner, Hans-Georg (ed.): Unsichere Zeiten: Herausforderungen gesellschaftlicher Transformationen. [Uncertain Times: Challenging societal transformations.] Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag.

Hiss, Stefanie (2010): Übernehmen Unternehmen mit ihrer Unterstützung der Tafeln gesellschaftliche Verantwortung? [Do corporations with their support of Food Banks act socially responsible?] In: Lorenz, Stephan (ed.): TafelGesellschaft. Zum neuen Umgang mit Überfluss und Ausgrenzung. [TafelSociety. On the new dealing with affluence and social exclusion.] Bielefeld: transcript, 69-80.

Hiss, Stefanie (2005): Embeddedness und Autonomy - zum Einfluss von Sozialkapital auf Corporate Social Responsibility. [Embeddedness and Autonomy - The Impact of Social Capital on Corporate Social Responsibility.] In: Gad, Gerhard/ Hiss, Stefanie/ Wienhardt Thomas (Hg.): Wirtschaft, Ethik und Entwicklung - Wie passt das zusammen? [Business, Ethics, and Development - How Does it Fit?] Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin. 296-323.

studies

Róna-Tas, Ákos/ Hiss, Stefanie (2008): Consumer and Corporate Credit Ratings and the Subprime Crisis in the U.S. with Some Lessons for Germany, Study prepared to the SCHUFA, Wiesbaden (together with Ákos Róna-Tas).

German version: Das Kreditrating von Verbrauchern und Unternehmen und die Subprime-Krise in den USA mit Lehren für Deutschland, translation: Stephan Elkins (SocioTrans)

-> German version of the study has been reprinted in Informatik-Spektrum 2010

working papers

Róna-Tas, Ákos/ Hiß, Stefanie (2010): Consumer and Corporate Credit Ratings and the Subprime Crisis in the U.S. with Some Lessons for Germany. In: Micklitz, Hans-W. (ed.): Consumer Loans and the Role of the Credit Bureaus in Europe. EUI Working Papers RSCAS 2010/44. 5-28.