Bio: (1944-) Swedish sociologist. Göran Ahrne teaches at Stockholm University. He studies classes and organizations. He is best known for his own "organizational theory of society". He combines the contributions of organizational theory with classical sociological theory. Using a broad definition of organizations, Ahrne shows that processes within and between different organizations have a crucial impact on the understanding of general social relations. Societies are shaped by interaction with organizations. Organizations provide resources and motivations to individuals and shape the frameworks within which they operate. Ahrne's theory was influenced by organizational, institutional, and environmental theories. Ahrne is an advocate of Erik Olin Wright's neo-Marxist class theory, which he applied in his study of class structure in Sweden. Ahrne also studies the topics of globalization and international organizations, the state, social stratification, and the family.

Main works

Class and Social Organization in Finland (1989);

Agency and Organization: Towards an Organizational Theory of Society (1990a);

„Class and Society: a Critique of John Goldthorp's Model of Social Classes“, in (Clark, J. ed.) John H. Goldthorp: Consensus and Controversy (1990b);

Social Organizations: Interaction Inside, Outside and Between Organizations (1994);

Meta-Organizations (2008).

Organization outside Organizations: The Abundance of Partial Organization in Social Life (2019);

The Construction of Social Bonds A Relational Theory of Globalization, Organizations and Society (2021).