Ronald S. Burt

Ronald Stuart Burt is an American sociologist, born in 1949, working in mathematical sociology and social network analysis, with applications to organizational behavior and management theory. He is most notable for his research on social networks and social capital, particularly the theory of structural holes, gaps between individuals or groups holding complementary resources or information, and his argument that network brokers who bridge these gaps gain a competitive advantage through information arbitrage and early access to opportunity. His major works include Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition (1992), Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital (2005) and Neighbor Networks: Competitive Advantage Local and Personal (2010). He holds the Charles M. Harper Leadership Professorship Emeritus of Sociology and Strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has been a Distinguished Professor at Bocconi University since 2020.