PhD
Economic Sociology
Economic Sociology at MIT Sloan trains scholars to use sociology to understand how organizations and economies work. This group meets the growing need for sociologically trained faculty in business schools and the expanding field of economic sociology. Leading researchers like Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan, Emilio J. Castilla, Johan Chu, Kate Kellogg, and Ray Reagans explore the links between organizations, institutions, and the economy. Their work uses qualitative research (e.g., fieldwork, case studies, ethnography), quantitative research (e.g., surveys, archival databases, social network analysis), and modeling (e.g., systems dynamics, game theory, agent-based models) to explain economic processes.
Research from Economic Sociology Faculty
Why Agile is a poor fit for the platform marketplace
Agile was supposed to revolutionize how companies operate, but it’s fundamentally mismatched with the complex world of platform markets, says digital economy specialist Georg Rilinger.
Choose the human path for AI
To realize the greatest gains from artificial intelligence, we must make the future of work more human, not less.
AI hiring perpetuates familiar biases. Here’s how to avoid that trap
The AI hiring revolution doesn’t have to be a story of automated bias, argues MIT Sloan’s Emilio J. Castilla. Tough questions and constant monitoring can lead to fairer systems.
For manufacturers, listening to workers pays off in productivity
Companies that act on input from front-line employees pay their workers more and experience a productivity bump that offsets those costs.
Select Economic Sociology Faculty
DIRECTOR
Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan
Alvin J. Siteman (1948) Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan is the Alvin J. Siteman (1948) Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. He is also cofounder of MIT Sloan's PhD Program in Economic Sociology. Zuckerman Sivan is an economic sociologist whose research focuses on showing how…
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Economic Sociology Faculty
Emilio J. Castilla
NTU Professor of Management
Emilio J. Castilla is the NTU Professor of Management and a Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Castilla is currently the co-director of the Institute for Work and Employment Research. He joined the MIT…
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Johan Chu
Hear name pronounced.Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor
Johan Chu is the Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor and an Assistant Professor of System Dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management Johan's research examines power. Recently-developed technologies–including generative AI–allow…
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Kate Kellogg
Hear name pronounced.David J. McGrath jr (1959) Professor of Management and Innovation
Kate Kellogg is the David J. McGrath jr Professor of Management and Innovation, a Professor of Business Administration at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Kate's research focuses on helping knowledge workers and organizations develop and…
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Example PhD Thesis Topics
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Tatiana Labuzova (2025)
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Hagay Volvovsky (2023)
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Carolyn Fu (2022)
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Ethan Poskanzer (2022)
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Summer Jackson (2021)