Rethinking the Third Mission: Organizing dissonance in transformative universities

Universities increasingly engage in sustainability transitions through Third Mission (TM) activities that confront “wicked” problems and conflicting value systems. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that explains how TM contributes to transformative change by placing value collisions at its analytical core. Drawing on Convention Theory, we distinguish two knowledge processes: equivalence-oriented processes that seek efficiency and alignment, and dissonance-oriented processes that deliberately engage divergent values. Crucially, we conceptualize dissonance not as a barrier but as a generative driver of transformation, making its organization a core task of transformative TM. Using this perspective, we assess which organizational forms and governance arrangements enable transformation by sustaining dissonance, identifying heterarchy and an intermediate space between academia and society as central. This delineation sets transformative universities apart from other models and yields far-reaching implications for TM-related policy mixes and impact assessment. • Distinguishes the transformative university and its Third Mission (TM) from prior models. • Shows how TM shifts from equivalence- to dissonance-based knowledge processes. • Argues that transformative TM requires organized dissonance between values. • Distinguishes three TM organizational ideal types by how they handle dissonance. • Presents a model of a dissonance-equivalence cycle bridged by temporary settlements.