Nicolas Mechnig
Research Profile
Organizational Sociology | Sociology of Sport | Deviant Behavior | Willingness to Report Misconduct in Sport | Neuro-Enhancement among Students
Nicolas Mechnig is a research associate and PhD candidate at the Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University. His main research areas include organizational sociology, sociology of sport, and specifically the analysis of the willingness to report misconduct within organizations. A central research topic is Organizational Deviance, where he intensively deals with corruption, doping, sexual harassment, and discrimination in the sports context. His research also extends to the education sector, where he focuses on deviance such as the topic of neuro-enhancement among students.
His current main research project, "Misconduct in Sports Organizations," investigates how to increase the willingness of elite athletes to report. The goal is to develop evidence-based prevention concepts through the analysis of existing reporting channels and the development of a game-concept training unit to research the willingness to report in a competitive sports setting.
In parallel, he conducts projects on stakeholder and feedback analysis, partly to improve the university's organizational structures through interviews, focus groups, and the development of a 360° feedback questionnaire.
Selected Publications
- Mechnig, N. (2025). Die englische Premier League - Organisatorischer Wandel und Führungsmerkmale in Fußballvereinen. BestMaster. Springer VS.
Current Research Projects
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Since 2025 | Stakeholder and Feedback Analysis |
Since 2025 | Misconduct in Sports Organizations: How can the willingness of athletes to report be increased? |
Curriculum Vitae
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Since 10/2025 | Research Associate, Max Weber Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University |
Since 10/2024 | PhD Candidate, Max Weber Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University |
10/2024 – 09/2025 | Research Assistant for Prof. Markus Pohlmann |
10/2021 – 03/2024 | Master's Degree in Sociology, Max Weber Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University; Degree: M.A. Sociology |
09/2018 – 07/2021 | Bachelor's Degree in Sociology, Minor in Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim; Degree: B.A. Sociology |
External Functions
- HeiGOS Member
- HGGS Membership
- Member of the Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics
Teaching
- Seminar: Deviance in and by Organizations (Summer Semester 25)
- Seminar: Deviance in the Education Sector: Neuro-Enhancement - Doping among Students (Winter Semester 25/26)
- Lecture: Sociology of Organization and Economy (Winter Semester 25/26)