Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Ronald Burt is the Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In addition to teaching courses in Chicago Booth MBA programs, Professor Burt teaches Strategic Leadership, a capstone course in Chicago’s Executive Education programs.
Past positions held by Dr. Burt include the Shell Professor of Human Resources at the Institute Européen d'Administration d'Affaires (INSEAD), 1998-2001; Director of Raytheon’s Leadership Institution, 2000-2003; and Vice President of Strategic Learning, Raytheon Company, 2001-2003, with the broad task of establishing a Leadership Institute to enhance the strategic thinking of middle and senior managers in a collaborative network across the company. Dr. Burt authored the book,
Brokerage & Closure, as a result of his research and findings of social capital during his tenure with Raytheon Company.
Dr. Burt’s consulting, research, and teaching concern the social structure of competitive advantage. Applications focus on manager networks (how people of diverse backgrounds create social capital and its effect on their careers) and the network structure of market profits (how the structure of producers, suppliers, and consumer relations define competitive advantage among producers). Recent research and teaching materials can be downloaded (Google "Ronald Burt").
Dr. Burt obtained his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1977 and held a full-time appointment at the University of California - Berkeley and Columbia University before returning to join the University of Chicago faculty in 1993, INSEAD in 1998, VP at Raytheon Company in 2001, and back to Chicago Booth in 2003. Academy of Management Distinguished Scholar in Organization and Management Theory, 2007; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected in 1993; Member of the Sociological Research Association, elected in 1986; Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1984-1985.
Programs taught by this professor include:
