PD Dr. Otto Hüther

The consultation takes place as required. Please contact me in advance by email and briefly describe your concerns.

Professional stations

Apprenticeship

Main research areas

• Higher education and science studies
• Organizational sociology
• Social inequality research (social origin, gender)
• Climate change research

Winter semester 2025/2026

Soziologische Machtkonzepte (BA MO 7 + Kern) - Mittwoch 16-18 Uhr, Nora-Platiel 6 / Raum 0212

Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (BA MO 7 + Kern) - Donnerstag 12-14 Uhr, Diagonale 3 - Hörsaal 2 / Raum 0509

Neoinstitutionalistische Organisationstheorie (BA MO 9) - Donnerstag 16-18 Uhr, Arnold-Bode 10 / Raum 0104

(Internationale) Forschung und Praxis (MA MO 6) - Freitag 12-14 Uhr, Nora-Platiel 5 / Raum 0107

Summer semester 2025

Organizations - theories, topics, empirical approaches (BA MO 7) - Wednesday 4-6 p.m., Nora-Platiel 6 / Room 0212

Fundamentals of higher education research (BA MO 7 + core) - Thursday 10-12 a.m., Nora-Platiel 5 / Room 3107

Law, Judges and Courts - Introduction to the Sociology of Law (BA MO 7 + core) - Friday 12-14 h, Nora-Platiel 6 / Room 0211

Sociological climate change research (MA MO 6) - Thursday 2-4 p.m., Moritzstr. 18 Campus Center / Room 1117, Seminar Room 4

• Founding editor 2017-2024: "Zeitschrift für empirische Hochschulforschung" - together with Elke Wild and Joachim Grabowski.
• Member of the Interdisciplinary Working Group "Changes in Universities and their Social Environment: Consequences for Academic Freedom?" at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• Member of the advisory board for the Hans Böckler Foundation-funded project "Working conditions of employees in science-supporting areas at universities in transition" (Project Leader: Prof. Andrä Wolter and Ulf Banscherus).
• Head of the continuing education program for science management at the University of Speyer (2014-2015).
• Prizes: 2011 Ulrich Teichler Prize for outstanding dissertations in higher education research for the dissertation "Von der Kollegialität zur Hierarchie? An Analysis of New Managerialism in the State Higher Education Acts".
• Reviewer for: Zeitschrift für Soziologie, Social Forces, Leviathan, Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, European Journal of Higher Education, Science and Public Policy, Higher Education Quarterly, Higher Education Policy, Leibniz-Wettbewerb, WSI-Mitteilungen, Zeitschrift für empirische Hochschulforschung
• Memberships: German Sociological Association (DGS), DGS section Organizational Sociology, Society for Higher Education Research (GfHf), Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (CHER)

• DFG project on the topic: "Do universities play a role? Panel analyses on the development of the proportion of female professors at German universities from 1993 to 2020". Project Leader Otto Hüther/Stefan Kirchner
• Co-applicant in the line "Development of Graduate Programs" at the University of Kassel. Competitively acquired research training group on the topic: "Elitereproduktion im Wandel? The importance of higher education for career paths in different areas of society (ELBHA)". Other applicants Guido Bünsdorf (Economics), Georg Krücken (Sociology), Volker Stocké (Sociology), Gerd Stumme (Computer Science) and Sylvia Veit (Public Management).
• Evaluation of the program "Deregulated University" for the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft and the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation (with Anna Katharina Jacob, Hanns H. Seidler, Karsten Wilke).
• Scientific and operational support for the evaluation of the TU Berlin's Basic Regulations (with Georg Krücken, Albrecht Blümel).

Books

• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2018): Higher education in Germany - Recent developments in an international perspective. Cham: Springer (Reviewed in: Comparative Education, Higher Education, Higher Education Quarterly).
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2016): Universities - Questions, results and perspectives of social science research on higher education. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag (Reviewed in: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Soziologische Revue, diehochschule, Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, Wissenschaftsmanagement).
• Hüther, Otto (2010): From collegiality to hierarchy? The New Managerialism in the State Higher Education Acts. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag(Reviewed in: Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, Soziologische Revue).
• Hüther, Otto (2003): Organizational culture and organizational leadership - possibilities and limits of communicating values: a theoretical and empirical sketch using the example of Deutsche Bahn AG. Stuttgart: ibidem(Reviewed in: Soziologische Revue).

Editorship

• Wild, Elke; Grabowski, Joachim; Hüther, Otto (founding editors 2017-2024): "Zeitschrift für empirische Hochschulforschung" (ZeHf). Publisher: Barbara Budrich.

Articles in journals and edited volumes

• Hüther, Otto; Schimank, Uwe: Third-party funding in the science system - rewards, facilitation and secondary utilization. In: Webler, Wolff-Dietrich (ed.): Überzogener und überhitzter Wettbewerb in der Wissenschaft.Bielefeld : UVW UniversitätsVerlagWebler, pp. 159-181.
• Hüther, Otto; Kosmützky, Anna (2023): Sociology of the university. In: Kaldeway, David (ed.): Introduction to the Sociology of Science. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 171-200.
• Hüther, Otto; Uwe Schimank (2023): Debates on academic freedom in Germany - Current issues and positions and their historical classification. In: Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Science Policy in Dialogue.
• Schimank, Uwe; Hüther, Otto (2022): Freedom of research as a financial guarantee right: What does this mean for the basic endowment of professorships? In: Research. Policy - Strategy - Management 15 (3 + 4), pp. 101-107.
• Gläser, Jochen; Hüther, Otto (2022): Careers and individual academic freedom. In: Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Science Policy in Dialogue.
• Schimank, Uwe; Hüther, Otto (2022): Research funding and individual academic freedom. In: Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Science Policy in Dialogue.
• Hüther, Otto; Kirchner, Stefan (2018): Critical mass, competition or legitimacy? Analyses of the development of the proportion of female professors at German universities in the period 1992-2014. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 70 (4), pp. 565-591.
• Hüther, Otto; Veit, Sylvia (2016): How does career background influence the public service motivation and self-concept of top civil servants? An empirical analysis using the example of university chancellors. In: der moderne staat, 9 (2), pp. 353-379.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2016): Nested organizational fields: Isomorphism and differentiation among European universities. In: Popp Berman, Elizabeth; Paradeise, Catherine (eds.): The University under pressure. (Series: Research in the Sociology of Organizations). Bingley: Emerald, pp. 53-83.
• Hüther, Otto (2015): Ouchi, William G. (1980): Markets, Bureaucracies, and Clans. In: Kühl, Stefan (ed.): Key works of organizational research. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 518-521.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2015): Incentives and power: An organizational perspective. In: Welpe, Isabell M.; Wollersheim, Jutta; Ringelhan, Stefanie; Osterloh, Margit (eds.): Incentives and Performance. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 69-86.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2014): The rise and fall of student fees in a federal higher education system: The case of Germany. In: Ertl, Hubert; Dupuy, Claire (eds.): Students, markets and social justice: Higher education fee and student support policies in Western Europe and beyond. Oxford: Symposium Books, pp. 85-110.
• Engels, Anita; Hüther, Otto; Schäfer, Mike; Held, Hermann (2013): Public climate-change skepticism, energy preferences and political participation. In: Global Environmental Change. 23 (5), S. 1018-1027.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2013): Hierarchy and power. A conceptual analysis with particular references to New Public Management reforms in German universities. In: European Journal of Higher Education. 3 (1), S. 307-323.
• Zuber, Stephanie; Hüther, Otto (2013): Interdisciplinarity in the Excellence Initiative - also a question of gender? Contributions to higher education research. 35 (4), S. 54-81.
• Hüther, Otto (2012): Changeability of research structures in German universities. An analysis of the state higher education acts. In: Heinze, Thomas; Krücken, Georg (eds.): Institutional renewability of research. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, pp. 127-155.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2012): Hierarchy without power? Career and employment conditions as "forgotten" limits of the organizational transformation of German universities. In: Wilkesmann, Uwe; Schmid, Christian (eds.): Hochschule als Organization. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, pp. 27-39.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2011): Academic Careers and Employment Conditions - Organizational Sociological Reflections on the Limits of New Management Models at German Universities. In: Social World, 62 (3), pp. 305-325.
• Hüther, Otto (2011): New Managerialism? Similarities and differences between the management models in the state higher education laws. In: die hochschule, 20 (1), pp. 50-72.
• Hüther, Otto (2010): Conflicts between University Advisory Boards and academic self-governance bodies? A look at the state higher education laws. In: Higher Education Management, 5 (1), pp. 15-20.
• Hüther, Otto (2009): University Advisory Boards as steering actors? In: Contributions to Higher Education Research, 31 (2), pp. 50-73.
• Hüther, Otto (2009): Strong deans - weak professors? Comparison and analysis of German state higher education laws. In: Higher Education Management. 3 (1), S. 23-27.
• Langer, Roman; Hüther, Otto (2009): The governance concept. In: Lüde, Rolf von; Moldt, Daniel; Valk Rüdiger (eds.): Selbstorganisation und Governance in künstlichen und sozialen Systemen. Berlin: Litt-Verlag, pp. 469-485.
• Hüther, Otto (2009): Hierarchy or collegiality at the faculty level? In: Lüde, Rolf von; Moldt, Daniel; Valk, Rüdiger (eds.): Selbstorganisation und Governance in künstlichen und sozialen Systemen. Berlin: Litt-Verlag, pp. 537-561.

Research reports

• Hüther, Otto; Kosmützky, Anna; Asanov, Igor; Bünstorf, Guido; Krücken, Georg (2020): Massive Open Online Courses after the Gold Rush: International and National Developments and Future Perspectives. LCSS Working Papers; 4.
• Hüther, Otto; Kirchner Stefan (2017): Critical mass or competition? The development of the proportion of female professors at German universities in the period 1992-2014. INCHER Working Paper 7.
• Albrecht, Blümel; Hüther, Otto (2015): Administrative leadership at German universities. Descriptive summary of the survey of chancellors at German universities conducted in 2015. INCHER Working Paper 3.
• Hüther, Otto; Engels, Anita; Bopp, Felix (2012): Core results of a representative population survey on climate change and energy preferences. In: Engels, Anita (ed.): Global transformations towards a low carbon society, 7 (Working Paper Series), Hamburg: University of Hamburg / KlimaCampus.
• Hüther, Otto; Jacob, Anna K.; Seidler, Hans H.; Wilke, Karsten (2011): University autonomy in law and practice. An implementation analysis against the background of the funding programs of the Stifterverband and the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation. Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Essen.

Other articles

• Dehdarian, Niko; Hüther, Otto; Kirchner, Stefan (2024): Women are in office for shorter periods. An analysis of the terms of office of university leaders in Germany. Research&Teaching 31(6): 424-425.
• Hüther, Otto; Krücken, Georg (2019): Germany debates whether academic freedom is an individual or organizational right. In: Times Higher Education, May 9.
• Hüther, Otto (2013): Autocrat or half-wit? The scope of action of university leaders. In: Research & Teaching, H 10, 738-740.
• Hüther, Otto; Jacob, Anna K.; Seidler, Hans H.; Wilke, Karsten (2011): University autonomy in law and practice. Results of a current study. In: Research & Teaching, H 10, 770-772.

• Universities as actors? Input lecture at the Q-KNOW Online Symposium "Science and Universities from the Network Perspective", December 6, 2021.
• Careers of female scientists. What influence do universities in Germany have? Lecture as part of the lecture series Universitäten im Wandel: Zwischen Profilbildung und institutioneller Erneuerung, University of Wuppertal, April 28, 2021.
• Neo-Institutionalism - Foundations and Further Developments. Workshop as part of the Graduiertenkolleg Wissenschaftsmanagement und Wissenschaftskommunikation, University of Magdeburg, September 08, 2020.
• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): How Great Expectations of a Global Higher Education World are dashed by National Strategies. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Portland November 14-16, 2019 (together with Anna Kosmützky).
• Massive Open Online Courses after the Hype: Towards a Global Strategic Action Field? Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA). New York August 10-13, 2019 (together with Anna Kosmützky).
• Changing Organizational Structures of Universities: What Role Do Intended and Unintended Reform Consequences Play? Presentation at the CHER 31st Annual Conference. Moscow, August 30-31, 2018 (together with Georg Krücken).
• On the Way from the Habilitation to the Tenure-Track System? The connection between career system and organizational power structures in the German higher education system as an obstacle to reform. Sociological keynote at the scientific symposium "Karriereentscheidungen und -verläufe des Wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses in den MINT-Fächern". Aachen, June 02-03, 2016.
• Universities as complete organizations? Lecture at the Halle Evening Talks on School and Education. Halle, April 25, 2016.
• Science as a precarious profession? Precarious academic careers under discussion. Panelist at the public panel discussion organized by the DGS at the WZB. Berlin, February 25, 2016.
• We are making a state university law (or why it is worth analyzing formal regulations). Workshop at the Summer School for Higher Education and Science Studies. Berlin, September 17, 2015.
• Bringing organizations back in - Isomorphism and differentiation among European universities. Presentation at the CHER annual conference 2015. Lisbon, September 7-9, 2015 (together with Georg Krücken).
• Barriers for women in science - An overview. Presentation at the conference "Frauen in Führungspositionen: Zur (De-)Konstruktion von Geschlechterdifferenzen", Speyer, 12 June 2015.
• Beyond homogenization: Isomorphism among European universities. Presentation at the ^11th workshop on new institutionalism in organization theory. Vienna, 26-27 March 2015 (together with Georg Krücken).