Martin Ruef, Jack and Pamela Egan Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship

Please note: Martin has left the "Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

My research considers the social context of entrepreneurship from both a contemporary and historical perspective. I draw on large-scale surveys of entrepreneurs in the United States to explore processes of team formation, innovation, exchange, and boundary maintenance in nascent business startups. My historical analyses address entrepreneurial activity and constraint during periods of profound institutional change. This work has considered a diverse range of sectors, including the organizational transformation of Southern agriculture and industry after the Civil War, African American entrepreneurship under Jim Crow, the transition of the U.S. healthcare system from professional monopoly to managed care, and the character of entrepreneurship during early mercantile and industrial capitalism.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	344 Reuben-Cooke Building, Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:	(919) 660-5792
Email Address:
Web Pages:	https://duke.box.com/s/26p0qizuco0bfqnyyr39z4bi6c3ytds5 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin-Ruef

Teaching (Spring 2026):

• SOCIOL 359.01, ENTREPRENEURSHIP Synopsis

  Social Sciences 119, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	Stanford University	1999
M.A.	Stanford University	1994
BA	Virginia Tech	1990
B.S.	Virginia Polytech Institute and State University	1990

Research Interests:

My research considers the social context of entrepreneurship from both a contemporary and historical perspective. I draw on large-scale surveys of entrepreneurs in the United States to explore processes of team formation, innovation, exchange, and boundary maintenance in nascent business startups. My historical analyses address entrepreneurial activity and constraint during periods of profound institutional change. This work has considered a diverse range of sectors, including the organizational transformation of Southern agriculture and industry after the Civil War, the transition of the U.S. healthcare system from professional monopoly to managed care, and the character of entrepreneurship during the Industrial Revolution.

Areas of Interest:

Organizational Theory
Economic Sociology
Historical / Comparative Sociology
Network Analysis

Keywords:

Authority • Catchment Area (Health) • Economic Competition • Economic history • Entrepreneurship • Group Processes • Health Care Sector • Health Resources • Health Services Research • History • Home Care Agencies • Hospital Administration • Hospitals • Human capital • Ideology • Interinstitutional Relations • Labor • Middle class • Organizational change • Organizational sociology • Professions • Race Relations • Segregation • Slavery • Social Environment • Social networks • Wealth

Curriculum Vitae

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Grigoryeva, A; Ruef, M, The Historical Demography of Racial Segregation, American Sociological Review, vol. 80 no. 4 (2015), pp. 814-842, SAGE Publications, ISSN 0003-1224 [doi]  [abs]
2. Martin Ruef, Between Slavery and Capitalism: The Legacy of Emancipation in the American South (2014), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ [html]
3. Martin Ruef, The Entrepreneurial Group: Social Identities, Relations, and Collective Action (2014), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ (paperback edition) [html]
4. Kwon, SW; Heflin, C; Ruef, M, Community Social Capital and Entrepreneurship, American Sociological Review, vol. 78 no. 6 (2013), pp. 980-1008, SAGE Publications, ISSN 0003-1224 [980], [doi]  [abs]
5. Ruef, M, Constructing Labor Markets: The Valuation of Black Labor in the U.S. South, 1831 to 1867, American Sociological Review, vol. 77 no. 6 (2012), pp. 970-998, American Sociological Association, ISSN 0003-1224 [Gateway.cgi], [doi]  [abs]