Bio: (1943-) American sociologist. Mark Granovetter holds a doctorate in sociology from Princeton University and has taught at Johns Hopkins and Stanford Universities. Granovetter made an extremely significant contribution in several areas: he improved the network theory of society; together with Vivien Zelizar and Richard Swedberg, he returned economic sociology to the focus of sociological interest; he contributed to the development of mathematical sociology.

He is best known for introducing the concept of "strength of weak ties" into sociological theory. In two papers, „The Strength of Weak Ties“ (1973) and „The Strength of Weak Ties, A Network Theory Revisited“ (1983), Granovetter studied the impact that "weak ties" have on individuals in society. Weak relationships are those in which there is little emotional closeness and little intensity of contact between individuals. The standard sociological view was that the connections that individuals have with those closest to them, that is, "strong ties", have a decisive influence on success in life, because such persons will first and foremost provide support and help. However, Granovetter claims that strong connections have one flaw, which he explained through network theory. If all people with strong connections make one social network, then they will have the same resources and share the same information.

Contacts with people who are not extremely close to us are what will allow us to use some other resources and information. This will make it easier for highly educated professionals to find out about a new job through distant relatives or acquaintances. Individuals who come from poor families, lower classes, or isolated communities can progress more easily through weak relationships because those relationships give them access to resources and information that they can never get within strong relationships. In addition to individuals, weak ties play a significant role at the societal level. Weak ties help strengthen communities, spread ideas, and information, and often serve as the basis for broader collective action. Granovetter is also known for introducing the concept of "embeddedness" into the network and economic theory. He emphasizes that in society and the economy, in addition to the formal hierarchy and structure of relationships, personal interpersonal relationships, and networks are important, as well as the position that individuals have in them. Granovetter views these informal relationships as ingrained. Empirical and theoretical study of the structure of informal relations is important for understanding the behavior of actors and wider economic and social consequences.

Main works

 „The Strength of Weak Ties”, in American Journal of Sociology (1973);

 Getting A Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers (1974);

„Threshold Models of Collective Behavior”, in American Journal of Sociology (1978);

„The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited”, in Sociological Theory (1983);

„Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness”, in American Journal of Sociology (1985);

„Economic Institutions as Social Constructions: a Framework for Analysis“, in Acta sociologica (1992);

The Sociology of Economic Life (2001);

„The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes”, in Journal of Economic Perspectives (2005).