Helena Buhr is a Ph D Candidate in Economic Sociology and Organizations in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her research agenda engages ideas from organization theory, economic sociology, and network analysis to explain the emergence of social structures in young industries. She explains in her dissertation how political and professional developments influenced patterns of collaboration among venture capitalists and between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in 1965-1987. The findings contribute to literature on networks and institutions by showing how firms in young industries derive collaborative practices from established social domains. In other ongoing projects, she extend this research to examine the impact of networks on firms’ financial decisions and regional economic development.

In addition to her own research, she participates in two other projects. The first project investigates the role of the business press in markets (with Stefan Jonsson). The second project addresses the development of the U.S. knowledge economy (project led by Jason Owen-Smith).

Contact information: hbuhr (at) umich.edu