Mesostructure refers to social arrangements which mediate between human interactions and formal social structures. A mesostructural analysis looks at informal, semi-formal, and sometimes even formal arrangements which provide an alternive setting other than the formal social structure for the carrying out of human interactions. Negotiated order is created largely through mesostructure, not formal structure (ex., informal arrangements among prisoners, trustees, and guards in a prison setting, in spite of what processes are specified in the formal rules of the prison).

The metaphor of a trading zone is being applied to collaborations in science and technology. The basis of the metaphor is anthropological studies of how different cultures are able to exchange goods, despite differences in language and culture.