The Future of Weak Ties

“The Strength of Weak Ties” (Granovetter 1973) arguably contains the most influential sociological theory of networks. Granovetter’s subtle, nuanced theory has spawned countless follow-on ideas, many of which are immortalized in the 35,000 manuscripts that cite the original work. Among these are notable theories in their own right, such as Ron Burt’s structural holes theory (Burt 1992), which itself has generated a sizable body of knowledge about the social structure of competition.