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Chris­toph Hou­man Ellersgaard

Associate Professor

Subjects
Boards Democracy Methodology Interest group Business community Sociology

Primary research areas

Power Elites

Studying power elites means asking how elites change across time and space and how these changes in elites reflect wider transformations in societal power structures

Elite networks

Using social network analysis, it is possible to map changing relations between different elite groups, in particular how the corporate community is organized

Class

Understanding how social inequality and stratification works means studying how the very top of society is organized. Both what united the upper classes and which factions there are within them

I study elites and how they change – and are changed by - society

In my research, I focus on how elites can be domesticated by different societal institutions. Therefore, I study how elites change historically and from one country to another.  I develop new methods for mapping elites by studying their networks, careers, lifestyle and ideology. 

As a sociologist, I also have a strong interest in how we can study abstract concepts such as power through transparent, rigorous og illustrative methods. Therefore, I use and teach such relational methods, including social network analysis, multiple correspondence analysis and sequence analysis. Additionally, I want to develop our capacities to use textual and large-scale data in both research and teaching    

Recent research projects

CLONE – Consequences of Long-term Organizational Embeddedness

As society changes, large corporations have to adapt strategically. In this context, the networks of managers constitute a key resource as a source of information and towards building alliances. Our knowledge of how different types of network embeddedness affect the strategic opportunities of firms across different historical periods is however still limited. This includes whether corporate networks can explain why some corporations stagnate, whereas others manage to right the ship. And how networks of corporations affect strategic choices regarding mergers and acquisitions. The CLONE project explores how embeddedness in historical networks affects the strategic decisions made by large corporations between 1910-2020. This is studied by creating a unique database, combining historical data on accounts and networks. By doing this, the project extends the understanding of how corporations learn from and find alliances through networks

Outside activities

Foreningen for Elite- og Magtstudier, public lectures, 2025–present

CBS Executive, Course coordination , 2025–present