Christopher Wheat is an Assistant Professor of Strategy in the Behavioral and Policy Sciences Area at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.S.E. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and received a M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University with a concentration in artificial intelligence. His Ph.D. is from Harvard University in Organizational Behavior. He teaches 15.900 - Strategic Management in the MBA curriculum, and 15.992 - Networks and Organization, a doctoral seminar in the Economic Sociology Program.

Professor Wheat is broadly interested in the role that the identity of a firm plays in determining its performance and economic outcomes. In a wide variety of contexts, organizations are assigned to social categories, and these categories often play a role in shaping interactions with customers, suppliers, and other key stakeholders. Along these lines, his research has examined the role that membership in an industry plays in determining performance, the role that industry boundaries play in limiting entry, and the extent to which the ability of firms to export to the global market is shaped by their national context. He is also particularly interested in advancing the use of social network methodologies in the pursuit of this research.