The W. Richard Scott Award for Distinguished Scholarship is granted for an outstanding contribution to scholarship on organizations, occupations, and/or work in an article published within the last three years (2020, 2021, 2022).  An article may be nominated by its author(s) or by any ASA member.

To nominate an article, send (1) a PDF file of the article or a functioning URL where it can be accessed, (2) a letter (PDF or MSWord) of no more than one page justifying the nomination, and (3) contact information for the nominee (including email), to the selection committee. Publication date is based on print publication for traditional journals (i.e., not online-first date), and release date for online-only journals. To receive full consideration, nominations must be submitted by March 31, 2023.

Please submit your nomination to the members of the Thompson Award Committee:

Jiwook Jung (chair)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
jwjung@illinois.edu

Adilia James
Endicott College
adilia.james@gmail.com

Barbara Kiviat
Stanford University
bkiviat@stanford.edu 

Past Winners: 

2022 Winner:

Sauer, Carsten, Peter Valet, Safi Shams, and Donald Tomaskovic-Devey. 2021. “Categorical Distinctions and Claims-Making: Opportunity, Agency, and Returns from Wage Negotiations.” American Sociological Review 86:934-959.

Honorable Mention:

Lei, Ya-Wen. 2021. “Delivering Solidarity: Platform Architecture and Collective Contention in China’s Platform Economy.” American Sociological Review 86: 279-309.

2021 Winner

Storer, Adam, Daniel Schneider, and Kristen Harknett. 2020. “What Explains Racial/Ethnic Inequality in Job Quality in the Service Sector?” American Sociological Review 85, no. 4: 537–72.

2020 Winners

Winners: Raina A. Brands and Isabel Fernandez-Mateo. 2017. “Leaning Out: How Negative Recruitment Experiences Shape Women’s Decisions to Compete for Executive Roles.” Administrative Science Quarterly 62(3): 405-442.

Honorable Mentions:

Victor Ray. 2019. “A Theory of Racialized Organizations.” American Sociological Review 84(1): 26-53.
Daniel Schneider and Kristen Harknett. 2019. “Consequences of Routine Work-Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Well-Being.” American Sociological Review 84(1): 82-114.

2019 Winner

Benjamin Shestakofsky, “Working Algorithms: Software Automation and the Future of Work,” Work and Occupations 44(4): 376–423. 2017.

2018 Winner

Erin Metz McDonnell.  2017. “Patchwork Leviathan: How Pockets of Bureaucratic Governance Flourish within Institutionally Diverse Developing States.” American Sociological Review 82:476-510.

2017 Winner

Winner:  Kang, Sonia K., Katherine A. DeCelles, András Tilcsik, and Sora Jun. 2016. “Whitened Resumes: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market.” Administrative Science Quarterly 61(3):469-502.

Honorable mention: Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, Martin Hallsten, and Dustin Avent-Holt. 2015. “Where Do Immigrants Fare Worse? Modeling Workplace Wage Gap Variation with Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data.” American Journal of Sociology 120(4):1095-1143.

2016 Winner

Winner: DiBenigno, J., and Kellogg, Katherine C. (MIT) 2014. “Beyond occupational differences the importance of cross-cutting demographics and dyadic toolkits for collaboration in a US hospital.” Administrative Science Quarterly 59(3):375-408.

Honorable mention: Mears, Ashley (Boston University) “Working for Free in the VIP Relational Work and the Production of Consent.” American Sociological Review 80(6): 1099-1122.

2015 Winner

Andras Tilcsik (University of Toronto), “Imprint-Environment Fit and Performance: How Organizational Munificence at Time-of-Hire Affects Subsequent Job Performance,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 2014, 59: 639-668.

An honorable mention was awarded to Christina Mora (University of California, Berkeley), for “Cross-Field Effects and Ethnic Classification: The Institutionalization of Hispanic Panethnicity, 1965 to 1990,” American Sociological Review, 2014, 79: 183-210

2014 Winner

Kwon, Seok-Won, Colleen Heflin and Martin Ruef. 2013. “Community Social Capital and Entrepreneurship.” American Sociological Review 78(6): 980-1008.

2013 Winner
Isabel Fernandez-Mateo and Zelia King. 2011. “Anticipatory Sorting and Gender Segregation in Temporary Employment.” Management Science 57(6): 989-1008. Link. 

2012 Winner
Ruthanne Huising and Susan Silbey. 2011. “Governing the Gap: Forging Safe Science through Relational Regulation,” Regulation & Governance 5: 14-42.

2011 Winner
Matt L. Huffman, Philip N. Cohen, and Jessica Pearlman. 2010. “Engendering Change: Organiza- tional Dynamics and Workplace Gender Desegrega- tion, 1975–2005.” Administrative Science Quarterly 55: 255–277.

2010 Winner
Alexandra Kalev. 2009. “Cracking the Glass Cages? Restructuring and Ascriptive Inequality at Work.” American Journal of Sociology 114(6): 1591-1643.

2009 Winner
David Stark and Balazs Vedres. 2006. “Social Times of Network Spaces: Network Sequences and Foreign Investment in Hungary.” American Journal of Sociology 111(5): 1367-1411.

2008 Winner
Brian Uzzi and Jarrett Spiro. 2005. “Collaboration and Creativity: The Small World Problem.” American Journal of Sociology 111(2):447-504.

2007 Winner
David Obstfeld. 2005. “Social Networks, The Tertius Iungens Orientation, and Involvement In Innovation.” Administrative Science Quarterly 50(1):100-130.

2006 Winner
Brian Uzzi and Ryon Lancaster. 2004. “Embeddedness and Price Formation in the Large Law Firm Market.” American Sociological Review 69:319-344.

2005 Winner
Hayagreeva Rao, Phillipe Monin and Rodolphe Durand. 2003. “Institutional Change in Toque Ville : Nouvelle Cuisine as an Identity
Movement in French Gastronomy.” American Journal of Sociology 108(4):795-843.
Vincent J. Roscigno and Randy Hodson. 2004. “The Organizational and Social Foundations of Worker
Resistance.” American Sociological Review 69(1):14-39.

2004 Winner
Kim A. Weeden. 2002. “Why Do Some Occupations Pay More than Others? Social Closure and Earnings Inequality in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 108(1):55-101.

2003 Winner
Isin Guler, Mauro Guillen and John MacPherson. 2002. “Global Competition, Institutions and the Diffusion of Organizational Practices: The International Spread of the ISO 9000 Quality Certificates.” Administrative Science Quarterly 47(2):207-232.