Damon J. Phillips

Damon J. Phillips, who joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 1998, studies social structural approaches to labor and product markets, organizational strategy and structure, as well as social network theory and analysis. His research has led to advancements in both the understanding of labor markets and entrepreneurship, and incorporates these advancements into his classes on management and strategic leadership. When students leave his class, he wants them to "take the tools provided at the Chicago Booth and add creative value for themselves, their organizations, and their communities."

Phillips is a recipient of a Charles E. Merrill Faculty Research Scholarship, a two-time recipient of a Neubauer Family Faculty Fellowship, and a three-time recipient of a Kauffman Foundation Research Grant for Entrepreneurship.

He is a member of the Academy of Management and the American Sociological Association and has served as a faculty affiliate for the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children & Work and for the Center of Race, Politics, and Culture. Additionally, he serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, on the editorial board for Administrative Science Quarterly, and as an associate editor for Management Science. Phillips's articles include "Middle-Status Conformity: Theoretical Restatement and Empirical Demonstration in Two Markets" written with E. W. Zuckerman published in the American Journal of Sociology (2001); "A Genealogical Approach to Organizational Life Chances: The Parent-Progeny Transfer among Silicon Valley Law Firms, 1946-1996" published in the Administrative Science Quarterly (2002); and "Interorganizational Determinants of Promotions: Client Leadership and the Promotion of Women Attorneys" written with C. M. Beckman published in the American Sociological Review in 2005. He is starting a major sociological study of the music industry.

Phillips graduated from Morehouse College in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in physics. He earned his first master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1992 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a second master's degree in sociology from Stanford University in 1997. In 1998, he earned a PhD in business from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Before pursuing his PhD at Stanford, he worked as a researcher for the U.S. Air Force and was vice president in a family-owned electronics manufacturing business.

Outside of the classroom, Phillips enjoys playing the saxophone, listening to jazz, nonprofit board activity, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Selected Publications

With E. W. Zuckerman, "Middle-Status Conformity: Theoretical Restatement and Empirical Demonstration in Two Markets," American Journal of Sociology (2001).

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"A Genealogical Approach to Organizational Life Chances: The Parent-Progeny Transfer among Silicon Valley Law Firms, 1946-1996," Administrative Science Quarterly (2002).

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"Organizational Genealogies and the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Case of Silicon Valley Law Firms," Administrative Science Quarterly (2005).

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With C. M. Beckman, "Interorganizational Determinants of Promotions: Client Leadership and the Promotion of Women Attorneys," American Sociological Review (2005).

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With Y. Kim, "Why Pseudonyms? Deception as Identity Preservation among Jazz Record Companies, 1920-1929," Organization Science (2009 forthcoming.)