“You are more likely to get information about new jobs from people that you are only weakly tied to, your acquaintances, than you are from close friends”

Awarded the 14th BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Social Sciences, Mark Granovetter reflects in this interview on how social networks shape individual behaviors and economic dynamics. He explains his influential theory of “weak ties,” which reveals why the most distant connections can be decisive in disseminating information, creating opportunities, and transforming markets. His perspective shows how the structure of human relationships influences collective phenomena such as labor mobility, trust, and social cohesion, providing an essential understanding of the social foundations of the contemporary economy.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences has gone in this edition to Mark Granovetter, “probably the most eminent economic sociologist in the world,” in the words of the citation, for revealing the power of loose social ties or networks of “acquaintances” as a source of social capital.