My previous work in organizations and societies reflects my belief that the problem of societal change necessitates a multi-level approach. My major goal is to write a theory of societal change that respects alterative pathways and distinct historical periods. The focus is on the interface between organizations and institutions. The problem is to predict path dependencies in the organizational form as a consequence of the institutional context and moments of institutional change.

With a team of researchers I am engaged in a collaborative project that unites the macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis by focusing on the causes of major discoveries in bio-medicine. The first book in this project is presently in press. The next book focuses on radical innovation in French bio-medicine with a special focus on the Institut Pasteur, one of the four great world champions.

Another long-term interest of mine is the integration of economic and sociological theory. Specifically I have written a formal theory of adaptive costs and benefits to broaden the institutional transaction model in economics. I have also written a general theory of endogenous economic growth. Finally, I am interested in returning to the problem of human capital and state coordination of education. With this latter problem and a large data set on Britain, France, Germany and Italy for the period 1860-1990, presently I am analyzing in interpreted time series designs, the impact of state policy shifts on technical education enrollments and then economic growth.