Nanna Mik-Meyer
Professor
Departments
Institut for Organisation
Room: KIL/14.A-4.51
Organisation
Kvalitativ metode
Offentlig sektor
Identitet
Sociologi
Primary research areas
Identities, Organisations and Power
My research explores the dynamic relationship between individuals and organisations, with a focus on how power, governance and professional relations shape people’s opportunities and positions in society.
Career and Gender in Academia
My research analyses academic career trajectories, performance metrics and gender dynamics, focusing on how structural conditions and evaluation systems contribute to inequality and shape career outcomes within academia.
Freedom of Expression
My research explores the conditions and significance of freedom of expression within academic institutions. The project concerns the conditions for freedom of expression among staff and students at Danish universities and university colleges, primarily within the social sciences and humanities.
Inequality
This project is about the increased social and economic inequality in the Danish society and is part of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0 (Magtudredningen 2.0).
Exploring how power and organisational governance shape individual opportunities
My research is grounded in an interest in the interplay between individuals and organisations, and in how power, governance and professional relations shape people’s opportunities and positions in society. This focus has guided my contributions to several widely used textbooks within major welfare education programs. Currently, I am engaged in two research projects.
The first project is a qualitative study on career paths, performance metrics and gender dynamics in academia, conducted in collaboration with Professor Margaretha Järvinen from Copenhagen University. Our findings - published in leading journals such as Sociology and Current Sociology, as well as in the Danish book Køn og karriere i akademia [Gender and Career in Academia] - have attracted wide attention, with the Current Sociology article alone being downloaded more than 6,000 times in 2024. I have also presented this work at several Danish universities, at the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, and at other relevant forums.
The other project is part of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0, where I am part of the management team. This project engages both policymakers and the broader public by providing research-based insights into the current state of Danish democracy.
Alongside my research, I support academic freedom and societal impact by chairing the CBS Professors’ Association and serving on the boards of the Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) and the Danish Center for Social Science Research (VIVE).
Recent research projects
The Danish Power Inquiry 2.0 (Magtudredningen 2.0)
I am part of the research management team of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0 (Magtudredningen 2.0), an ambitious, multi-year project (2024–2028) investigating the dynamics of power and democracy in Danish society. The project brings together leading scholars from across the social sciences to analyse how political, economic and social power are distributed and exercised today, and how new forms of governance, inequality and participation shape democratic life. Within the project, I contribute both to the overall research coordination and strategy and to qualitative studies of freedom of expression, discretionary power and inequality.
Gender and Career in Academia
This project investigates academic career trajectories and is based on interviews with approximately 200 professors and associate professors from social science departments in Denmark. So far, we have published a Danish-language book, Køn og karriere i akademia [Gender and Career in Academia] (2024), as well as four articles available in Sociology (2025), Work, Employment & Society (2025), Current Sociology (2025) and Gender and Education (2025).
Freedom of expression in academia (conducted as part of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0)
This project investigates the conditions for freedom of expression among staff and students at Danish universities and university colleges, primarily within the social sciences and humanities. It combines a nationwide survey with more than 100 qualitative interviews and explores how researchers and students experience freedom of expression and the inclusion of minorities today. The project also examines the role of politicians and social media in shaping the boundaries of free expression.
Discretion and decision-making in the public sector (conducted as part of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0)
This project examines how municipal caseworkers apply professional discretion in their decisions – and how the Danish Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen) functions as a corrective body. The study is based on 25 qualitative interviews and quantitative analyses of areas with high rates of overturned decisions. The aim is to shed light on the relationship between professional judgement and legal certainty in welfare state practices.
Rising inequality in Denmark (conducted as part of the Danish Power Inquiry 2.0)
This project focuses on how economic and social inequality has developed in Denmark since the turn of the millennium, and what consequences this has for social cohesion, citizen power and democratic influence. Drawing on both quantitative data and qualitative interviews, the study examines shifts in the distribution of economic, cultural and social capital – and how these affect democratic participation, trust in institutions and the legitimacy of political decisions.