About

David Krackhardt is a Professor of Organizations at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and holds a joint appointment at the Tepper School of Business. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in 1984 and his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973. His research focuses on social structure, organizational behavior, and the role of social ties within groups. Krackhardt has contributed to understanding how friendship ties influence retaliation and organizational dynamics, as evidenced by his publication on Simmelian friendship ties in Small Group Research. He is actively involved in academic service, serving as the editor of the Journal of Social Structure since 1999 and as an area editor for Computational and Mathematical Organizational Theory since 1995. Krackhardt is also a featured faculty member for Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business Executive Education, specifically in the Leadership as a Daily Challenge program. His work emphasizes the intersection of social networks, organizational behavior, and leadership, contributing to both scholarly research and executive education.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering
• Social Science
• Epistemology
• Computer network
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Management science
• Social psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Knowledge management
• Data science

Selected publications

• Sticky ties among rivals for entrepreneurial leadership

  International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research · 2025-05-26

  articleSenior author

  Purpose We explore the social structure of an autocratic, entrepreneurial organization, with a focus on the enduring rivalry between its formal leader and a key employee. Design/methodology/approach This is a re-study of Team Entrepreneurship (Stewart, 1989), with different eyes and methods, using ethnographic data for social network analysis (SNA). Findings With an analysis of structural equivalence, multiplexity, Simmelian triples and intermediation, this study shows how apparently conflicting social networks—collective entrepreneurship, antagonism and analytical management—can co-exist and that the main rivalrous tie is persistent or “sticky”. Research limitations/implications Due to deep fieldwork access and a site of managerial rivalry, the findings would have damaged careers, without a wait of many years to make the findings public. The specific context also limits external validity. The strengths of this paper are methodological and conceptual. Originality/value This is a rare observational study of entrepreneurial leadership and a rare study in an organization that uses ethnographic data as inputs for SNA matrixes. It shows important distinctions between inferences from observations compared with SNA.

  PublisherDOI

• The Interplay Between Cognition and Social Networks: Forming, Perceiving and Activating Networks

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2025-07-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This symposium explores the interplay between individual cognition and social networks. Moving beyond structural approaches, we examine how cognitive processes shape network formation, perception, and activation, along with their psychological consequences. The four presentations address diverse yet interconnected questions: 1) how cognitive schemas and subjective beliefs influence brokerage formation, 2) the psychological costs of misrepresenting friendships, 3) whether one-way relationships, seemingly strangers from network perspective, can serve as sources of social capital, and 4) who comes to mind in network nominations and the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the process. Together, these studies highlight the role of cognition in constructing and navigating social networks, offering theoretical and practical insights into network processes. Others in my mind: Understanding Brokerage Formation Through a Social-Cognitive Lens Author: Qi Zhang; The Price of Social Façades? Examining the Consequences of Faking and Hiding Friendships Author: Jingze Wang; Author: Blaine Landis; Converting Pseudo Ties into Social Capital: The Value of Connections to Strangers Author: Jung Won Lee; ESSEC Business School Author: Daniel Z. Levin; Rutgers University The Primacy of Network Homophily in Nomination Decisions Author: Hui Sun; Frankfurt School of Finance and Management Author: Lisheng He; -

  PublisherDOI

• The Roles of Learning and Status Attainment in Successful Newcomer Socialization: Random Assignments to Complex Projects and Early Career Outcomes

  Academy of Management Journal · 2025-05-02

  article

  Newcomers’ early work experiences in an organization can considerably affect their socialization. While much of the literature on this topic has documented how certain organization-wide practices succeed or fail in molding newcomers into “good citizens,” little is known about how differentiated early experiences lead to varied socialization outcomes. To this end, we systematically examine the impact of early project team assignments on newcomers’ career kick-offs. We propose two distinct but complementary mechanisms—learning and status attainment—to explain why some newcomers achieve superior performance and quicker promotions. We theorize that being assigned to complex projects offers newcomers opportunities to build competence and gain social recognition. Leveraging longitudinal archival data from a high-tech company where newcomers were randomly assigned to projects during their first two years, we found that those assigned to more complex projects obtained more professional certifications, reported higher levels of learning, and appeared more frequently in the company’s internal newsletters. These outcomes were associated with higher promotion rates, increased monetary rewards, and better supervisor evaluations. Additionally, we demonstrated that prior same-industry experience amplified the positive effects of project complexity on learning and status attainment. Our findings underscore the pivotal role of early assignments in shaping newcomers’ career development.

  PublisherDOI

• Balance correlations, agentic zeros, and networks: The structure of 192 years of war and peace

  PLoS ONE · 2024-12-20

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Social network extensions of Heider's balance theory have led to a plethora of adaptations, often inconsistent with Heider and each other. We present a general model that permits the description and testing of specific balance theoretic predictions as Heider had originally proposed them. We formulate balance statements as a comparison of two conditional probabilities of a tie: [Formula: see text], conditioned on 2-path relations [Formula: see text] vs. their counterfactual negation, [Formula: see text]. Here q, r and s, are indices that identify elements in a set of mutually exclusive and exhaustive relations in a multigraph (their sum produces a complete graph). This relaxes the dichotomous assumption of a signed graph. We identify neutral ties distinctive from negative and positive ties and convert the underlying signed graph into a restricted multigraph. The point-biserial correlations of relation q with the count of 2-paths (through relations r and s) describe the difference in conditional probabilities, or the prevalence for any stipulated balance configuration. In total 18 such unique balance correlations are identified for any trichotomous multigraph, although 27 theoretical statements exist. Two major advantages of balance correlations are: direct comparison between any two correlations over time, even if network sizes and densities differ; and the evaluation of specific balanced and unbalanced behaviors and predictions. We apply the model to a large data set consisting of friendly vs hostile relations between countries from 1816 to 2007. We find strong evidence for one of the balance statements, and virtually no evidence for unbalanced predictions. However, there is ample stable evidence that "neutral" ties are important in balancing the relations among nations. Results suggest that prevalence of balance-driven behavior varies over time. Indeed, other behaviors may prevail in certain eras.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• On the friendship paradox and inversity: A network property with applications to privacy-sensitive network interventions

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2024-07-19 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  We provide the mathematical and empirical foundations of the friendship paradox in networks, often stated as "Your friends have more friends than you." We prove a set of network properties on friends of friends and characterize the concepts of ego-based and alter-based means. We propose a network property called inversity that quantifies the imbalance in degrees across edges and prove that the sign of inversity determines the ordering between ego-based or alter-based means for any network, with implications for interventions. Network intervention problems like immunization benefit from using highly connected nodes. We characterize two intervention strategies based on the friendship paradox to obtain such nodes, with the alter-based and ego-based strategy. Both strategies provide provably guaranteed improvements for any network structure with variation in node degrees. We demonstrate that the proposed strategies obtain several-fold improvement (100-fold in some networks) in node degree relative to a random benchmark, for both generated and real networks. We evaluate how inversity informs which strategy works better based on network topology and show how network aggregation can alter inversity. We illustrate how the strategies can be used to control contagion of an epidemic spreading across a set of village networks, finding that these strategies require far fewer nodes to be immunized (less than 50%, relative to random). The interventions do not require knowledge of network structure, are privacy-sensitive, are flexible for time-sensitive action, and only require selected nodes to nominate network neighbors.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Importance of Project Status for Career Success: A Network Perspective

  Journal of Management · 2024-10-05

  article

  Employees’ career trajectories in project-based organizations are closely associated with their project participation history. Yet, little is known about what features make a project stand out as a career booster for its participants and who obtains more career benefits than others from working on “hotshot” projects. In this study, we focus on a unique feature of projects—project status—and theorize about potential network-related sources from which it derives. Specifically, we develop arguments for how the pattern of a project’s social relations with other projects in the project network reflects the project’s status. Then, we deduce hypotheses regarding the impact of project status on employees’ career advancement and the moderating role of one’s hierarchical level in this relationship, drawing on the literature on status diffusion, endorsement, evaluative uncertainty, and attribution. Our empirical examinations entailed two studies. Study 1 provides evidence for the validity of using a network structural feature of a project to indicate its status using data from a high-tech company’s R&D projects. Study 2 tested our hypotheses by leveraging a sample of over 1,000 IT specialists in a multinational accounting firm tracked over five years. We found that employees assigned to higher-status projects received faster promotions. This career advantage was moderated by a person’s organizational hierarchical level in a complex way such that middle-level people obtained more rapid promotions when assigned to high-status projects than their bottom- or top-level counterparts.

  PublisherDOI

• Why We All Should Be Bayesians: An Introduction to Bayesian Studies

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2023-07-24

  articleSenior author

  The purpose of this symposium is to introduce management researchers to the opportunities of Bayesian statistics for empirical research in the management sciences. We will outline the fundamental features of the Bayesian method without delving into the mathematical details. Instead, we will outline the conceptual differences and potential advantages of a Bayesian approach compared to traditional statistical analyses involving null-hypothesis statistical significance tests. We will then introduce an illustrative example from empirical management research that illustrates opportunities for the useful application of Bayesian data analysis and introduces participants on how to interpret the outcomes of Bayesian analyses for causal inference. Finally, we will discuss why in spite of strong arguments supporting the use of Bayesian statistics, the field of management research has been very reluctant considering Bayesian analysis as an alternative and how management scholars can support related methodological change efforts. The purpose of this symposium is to convince participants of the potential opportunities Bayesian methods can provide and to motivate organizational researchers to consider Bayesian statistics as an alternative in future research. Advantages of Bayesian Statistics Author: David Krackhardt; Carnegie Mellon U. Illustrative Applications of Bayesian Statistics in Management Research Author: Andreas Schwab; Iowa State U. Why has Bayesian Analysis been used so little? Author: William H. Starbuck; U. of Oregon

  PublisherDOI

• Does the Network Make the Man? Building Theory on the Locus of Agency in Network Studies

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2023-07-24

  article

  While decades of research have demonstrated that networks, through their structural configurations, powerfully influence people’s behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes, recent work has sought to better understand the role of individuals in shaping network processes. There are increasing appeals, for instance, to devote greater attention to the differences individuals exhibit in establishing, managing, and navigating social relations. Such differences are meaningful, as they influence the nature and form of the network around actors, and ultimately the opportunities available to them. In response to these emerging discussions, our symposium aims to contribute to a better understanding of individual agency in network theory. Questions include: What role do individuals play in shaping the process of network evolution? And, how do these dynamics impact the distribution of social capital (positive or negative) among actors within networks? Two of our presentations examine individual network agency through the lens of “microfoundations” perspective of social relations. One paper takes the ”individual advantage” perspective, delving into individuals’ agency in responding to the structure of their networks. The rest one emphasizes a dynamic view of network agency - one in which individuals’ level of agentic control in their networks ebbs and flows over time. The Dual Effect of Network Centrality on Employees’ Turnover Author: Alessandro Iorio; Bocconi U. Author: Shad S. Morris; Brigham Young U. How Micro-Level Cultural Similarity Affects the Evolution of Formal Organizational Structure Author: Danyang Li; U. of California, Berkeley Author: Julien Clement; Stanford U. Author: Sameer B. Srivastava; U. of California, Berkeley Self-Affirmation and Network Aspirations Among Women Entrepreneurs: A Field Experiment in Kazakhstan Author: Madina Nurguzhina; Imperial College London Author: Anne L.J. Ter Wal; Imperial College Business School Author: Heejung Jung; Imperial College London Author: Michelle Rogan; Imperial College Business School A Social Capital Theory of Social Change: How Social Capital Academy Ameliorates Social Inequality Author: David Obstfeld; California State U., Fullerton Author: Michael Hahn; Stanford U.

  PublisherDOI

• Do your friends stress you out? A field study of the spread of stress through a community network.

  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 2023 · 18 citations

  • Psychology
  • Social psychology
  • Developmental psychology

  In this study, we seek to understand how stress changes in dynamic social systems. Where prior work on the interpersonal transmission of stress focused on pairs of individuals and small groups, we adopt a network perspective to investigate how the distribution of stress in an individual's social environment influences their stress appraisal process. We conducted a 6-month longitudinal study of 315 early to midcareer adults in professional master's programs as they encountered the stress of everyday academic life. We follow the dynamics of the participants' networks and their concomitant stress at four key time points during those 6 months. We find that the perceived stress of one's social contacts affects their experience of stress in this setting. Yet, not everyone is equally susceptible to this social influence. In particular, we find that social influence is substantially amplified under conditions of relative consensus among one's social contacts. Also, a low level of neuroticism, a high level of conscientiousness, and a high level of internal control orientation help buffer the transmission of stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Networks and Diversity in the New Era of Organizational Teams

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2023-07-24

  article

  Taking a network perspective to study teams has been popular and fruitful in the past decades. Yet, the changing nature of how work teams are organized and managed in the new era brings unprecedented challenges to this line of work. For example, nowadays, many teams have fuzzy boundaries. And social exchanges and collaborations between groups are far more frequent and intensive than they traditionally were. Teams are also becoming increasingly diverse due to the globalization trend and the recognition of the value of diversity. These changing features of teams are likely to influence or interact with intra- and inter-team networks and exert a collective, integrated impact on individual members’ and teams’ cognitions, behaviors, and outcomes, which have not been thoroughly understood and examined. Our symposium highlights the recent efforts to investigate new emergent features of teams and explore how they interact with networks within and between teams. Two papers directly tap into the members’ social relations within and between teams, the diversity of these social relations, and associated team performance outcomes. Another two papers look at dynamic entrepreneurial teams, where each team constitutes the entire organization. Each explores a different element of diversity as a function of how networks are strategically used in these budding firms. The fifth paper switches the gear to focus on individuals’ intrapersonal diversity and network structural features and provides insights into how their linkage may shape team dynamics. Complementarities of Members’ Structural Roles in Team Success: The Moderating Role of Experience Author: Shihan Li; Heinz College - Carnegie Mellon U. Author: Brandy Aven; Carnegie Mellon U. The Social Underpinnings of Effective Organizational Interteam Relations Author: Martin J. Kilduff; UCL School of Management Author: Andreas Wilhelm Richter; U. of Cambridge Author: Ronald Clarke; Rennes School of Business Multicultural Experience and Social Network Brokerage Author: Eva Hsin-Lian Lin; London Business School Author: Raina A. Brands; UCL School of Management Author: Adrienne Wood; U. of Virginia Author: Adam M. Kleinbaum; Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business Showcasing strategies: The Role of Entrepreneurial Networking in Quest for Venture Capital Funding Author: Damiano Maria Morando; Imperial College Business School Author: Anne L.J. Ter Wal; Imperial College Business School Author: Stefano Breschi; Bocconi U. Recruiting for your team: Network hiring and match-specific performance in firms Author: Ines Black; - Author: Sharique Hasan; Fuqua School of Business, Duke U.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Martín Kilduff

  25 shared

• Matthew D. Weaver

  14 shared

• Kathleen M. Carley

  Carnegie Mellon University

  13 shared

• Donald M. Yealy

  UPMC Health System

  12 shared

• David Dekker

  Heriot-Watt University

  12 shared

• P. Daniel Patterson

  University of Pittsburgh

  11 shared

• Miguel Godinho de Matos

  Universidade Católica Portuguesa

  9 shared

• Patrick Doreian

  9 shared

Awards & honors

• TEPPER PHD THESIS AWARD: HERB SIMON (2005 - 2006)