Patricia H. Thornton is an American organizational theorist, and Grand Challenge Initiative Professor of Sociology and Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University as well as Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She is known for her work on "the sociology of entrepreneurship" and "the Institutional Logics Perspective." [1] [2]
Thornton obtained her PhD in Sociology in 1993 at Stanford University. [3] Her committee was W. Richard Scott, John Meyer, Jeffrey Pfeffer, and Nancy Tuma, and her dissertation was "Acquisition Growth of College Publishing, 1958-1990." One of her first publications to come out of her dissertation research was "The problem of boundaries in contemporary research on organizations," co-authored with Nancy Tuma and which won the best paper award from the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management. [4]
After graduation Thornton was visiting scholar in Organizational Behavior at INSEAD, and visiting scholar in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. At Duke University Fuqua School of Business she is appointed adjunct professor and is affiliated with its Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She was also visiting associate professor at Stanford University's Department of Sociology. [3] In 2015 Thornton became Grand Challenge Initiative Professor of Sociology and Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University where she currently teaches "The Social Science of Entrepreneurship." [5]
Thornton's research interests are in the fields of "organization theory, innovation and entrepreneurship, and the social and cultural factors promoting entrepreneurship... [specifically] in developing the Action Learning Approach for teaching entrepreneurship using live business plans, entrepreneurs, and investors." [3]
Articles, a selection:
Neo institutionalism is an approach to the study of institutions that focuses on the constraining and enabling effects of formal and informal rules on the behavior of individuals and groups. New institutionalism traditionally encompasses three major strands: sociological institutionalism, rational choice institutionalism, and historical institutionalism. New institutionalism originated in work by sociologist John Meyer published in 1977.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter is an American sociologist who is a professor of business at Harvard Business School. She co-founded the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative and served as Director and Founding Chair from 2008 to 2018. She was the top-ranking woman—No. 11 overall—in a 2002 study of Top Business Intellectuals by citation in several sources. She was named one of the "50 most powerful women in Boston" by Boston Magazine and named one of "125 women who changed our world" over the past 125 years by Good Housekeeping magazine in May 2010.
The Fuqua School of Business is the business school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. It enrolls more than 1,300 students in degree-seeking programs. Duke Executive Education also offers non-degree business education and professional development programs.
In sociology and organizational studies, institutional theory is a theory on the deeper and more resilient aspects of social structure. It considers the processes by which structures, including schemes, rules, norms, and routines, become established as authoritative guidelines for social behavior. Different components of institutional theory explain how these elements are created, diffused, adopted, and adapted over space and time; and how they fall into decline and disuse.
William Richard Scott is an American sociologist, and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University, specialised in institutional theory and organisation science. He is known for his research on the relation between organizations and their institutional environments.
Michael Lounsbury is an American organizational theorist, Associate Dean of Research, Thornton A. Graham Chair and Professor of strategic management, organizations and sociology at the University of Alberta, and expert in innovation and institutions.
Institutional logic is a core concept in sociological theory and organizational studies, with growing interest in marketing theory. It focuses on how broader belief systems shape the cognition and behavior of actors.
Helmut K. Anheier is a German-American academic. He is professor of sociology and past president of the Hertie School in Berlin. Until September 2019 he held a chair at the Max Weber Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University, where he was also the Academic Director of the Center for Social Investment and Innovation. His research interests include civil society, social innovation, organizational theory, governance and policy research, social science methodology, including indicator models
Doug Guthrie is an American academic administrator, sociologist, and China scholar. He is currently professor of global leadership and director of China initiatives at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at The Arizona State University. He was previously the dean of The George Washington University School of Business, and professor of management and sociology and director of executive education and NYU's Stern School of Business. He has also served as a visiting professor of management at the business schools of Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, Emory, and INSEAD and as director of the Business Institutions Initiative at the Social Science Research Council.
Gerardine L. (Gerry) DeSanctis was an American organizational theorist and information systems researcher and Thomas F. Keller Professor of Business Administration at Duke University, known for her work on group decision support systems and automated decision support
A symbol-intensive brand is a brand adopted not only for its functional benefits, but above all, for the strong symbolism and significance that it is able to transmit, allowing a consumer to express his or her identity, to signal status or manifest a sense of belonging to a group.
Henrich R. Greve is a Norwegian organizational theorist, and Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, and the Rudolf and Valeria Maag Chair in Entrepreneurship. He was the editor of the Administrative Science Quarterly.
Guje Agneta Sevón is a Swedish and Finnish academic in psychology, and management and organization. She is currently focusing her research on individuals and organizations in a world of travelling management ideas and mutable resources.
Howard E. Aldrich is an American sociologist who is Kenan Professor of Sociology and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Julie Battilana is a scholar, educator, and advisor in the areas of social innovation and social change at Harvard University. She is the Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the Alan L. Gleitsman Professor of Social Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Manju Puri is an economist who currently works as the J. B. Fuqua Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Gregory Dees, referred to as the father of social entrepreneurship education, was an American scientist, professor, founder and director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship Development (CASE) of Duke University.
Kimberly Ann Eddleston is the Schulze Distinguished Professorof Entrepreneurship, and Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University. Her expertise on subjects related to family business management and small business management is quoted in US sources. She has received many academic awards by US institutions and is a leading editor of several academic journals.
Christine Beckman is the Price Family Chair in Social Innovation and Professor at the University of Southern California, Price School of Public Policy. She is the current Editor at Administrative Science Quarterly. She studies social innovation and inequality.
Annabelle Gawer is a French-born British business theorist whose research concerns digital platforms. Born in France, and educated in France and the US, she works in the UK as Chaired Professor in Digital Economy and director of the Centre of Digital Economy at the University of Surrey.