Bio

Chuck Eesley is an Associate Professor and W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. As a Faculty Director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, his research focuses on the role of the institutional and university environment in high-growth, engineering-driven entrepreneurship. His research centers on rethinking how educational and policy environments shape the economic and entrepreneurial impact of university engineering students and alumni. His field research spans China, Japan, South Korea, Chile, Bangladesh, Uganda, Ethiopia, Thailand, and Silicon Valley and has received awards from the Schulze Foundation, the Technical University of Munich, and the Kauffman Foundation. He serves on the Steering Committee for the Stanford King Center for Global Development and the Advisory Committee for the Stanford Center at Peking University. Prof. Eesley is a faculty affiliate at the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and the Woods Institute for the Environment. He is also a member of the Editorial Board for the Strategic Management Journal. His work has been published in Nature, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, and Biological Psychiatry, among other places. He has been an advocate and mentor for immigrants and historically underrepresented groups in STEM, academia, and the tech sector through programs such as Diversifying Academia, Recognizing Excellence (DARE), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST). Before coming to Stanford, Prof. Eesley completed his Ph.D. at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. He earned a B.S. in neuroscience at Duke University.

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Steering Committee, King Center for Global Development (2024 - Present)
  • Director (International), Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) (2024 - Present)
  • Research Committee, STR Division. Academy of Management (2022 - 2024)
  • Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Department of Management Science & Engineering, Stanford. (2020 - 2023)
  • Organizer, Social Science & Technology Seminar (SIEPR) (2009 - 2018)
  • Research Committee, TIM Division Academy of Management (2015 - Present)
  • Lead Steering Committee, West Coast Research Symposium Doctoral Consortium (2011 - 2016)
  • Advisory Board, United States Department of State - Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST Network) (2014 - Present)

Honors & Awards

  • Stanford Teagle Fellow in Liberal Education, Stanford University (2022)
  • Third Annual IACMR-RRBM Responsible Research in Management Award, IACMR-RRBM (2020)
  • Institute for Advanced Studies Visiting Fellowship, Technical University of Munich (2019)
  • Finalist, Best OMT Published Paper, Academy of Management (2018)
  • TUM Research Excellence Award, Technical University of Munich (2018)
  • Faculty Affiliate, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment (2017-2019)
  • Undergraduate Teaching Award, MS&E (2017)
  • Richard Schulze Inaugural Distinguished Professorship Award, Richard Schulze Foundation (2015)
  • Faculty Affiliate, Stanford Center for International Development (SCID) (2014-present)
  • Kauffman-Nesta Research Grant winner - Randomized Controlled Trials in Entrepreneurship, Kauffman-NESTA (2014)
  • Batten Institute Fellow, University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business (2012)
  • Research Fund for International Young Scientists, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (2012)
  • Lillie Award, Stanford University (2011, 2012)
  • Technology and Innovation Management, IEEE International (2011)
  • Best Dissertation Award Winner (Business Policy and Strategy Division), Academy of Management (2010)
  • Dissertation Fellowship Award, Kauffman Foundation (2007)
  • Best Paper Proceedings, Academy of Management (2005, 2006, 2010, 2012)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Faculty Affiliate, Stanford Center for AI Safety (2024 - Present)
  • Advisor, Stanford's Master's of Science in Clinical Informatics and Management Program (2021 - Present)
  • Academic Director, ITRI-Stanford Platform. Industrial Technology Research Institute in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan (2013 - Present)
  • Review Board Member, National Science Foundation. Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier. Grant Review Panel. Office of Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities. (2020 - 2020)
  • Member, Strategic Management Society (2010 - Present)
  • Advisory Committee, Chile’s Ministry of the Economy (Production Development Corporation - CORFO). Startup Chile global accelerator program (2012 - 2017)
  • Editorial Review Board, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (2021 - Present)
  • Editorial Board, Strategic Management Journal (2015 - Present)
  • Member, Academy of Management (2005 - Present)

Professional Education

  • PhD, MIT, Sloan School of Management (2009)
  • BS, Duke University, Biological Basis of Behavior (2002)

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Faculty Department: Management Science and Engineering Position: Associate Professor

Additional Info

Links

Research Interests

  • Economics and Education
  • Higher Education
  • Leadership and Organization
  • Poverty and Inequality
  • Research Methods
  • Technology and Education

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

My research examines how institutional environments shape entrepreneurial outcomes, establishing me as a leader in this domain. My work introduces foundational concepts such as institutional barriers to entry and growth, institutional inconsistency, and the role of platforms as private regulators of ventures. I have also pioneered studies on how digital platforms influence entrepreneurship, and revisited corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the digital age. The central theme of my research is the role of institutions in shaping entrepreneurship. Key highlights include: (A) an in-depth examination of how institutional changes influence not only the quantity but also the quality of entrepreneurship, (B) an investigation of platforms as institutions, examining their role as private regulators for entrepreneurs, (C) an exploration of algorithms and misinformation on platforms, with implications for institutional trust and policy, and (D) a strong commitment to methodological rigor, employing advanced causal identification techniques and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to enhance the robustness of findings.

My research continues to focus on how institutional environments shape entrepreneurial outcomes. I explore how institutional reforms impact not only the number of entrepreneurs but also the quality and resilience of their ventures. By studying a variety of countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Chile, I analyze how changes in formal and informal institutions influence who becomes an entrepreneur, who succeeds, and the types of firms that thrive. I have two additional supporting streams, one on the role of platforms as institutions and another on the role of platforms in corporate social responsibility. My research contributes to institutional and entrepreneurship theories by examining institutions and the ways digital platforms shape entrepreneurship, while employing rigorous methods to push the state of the art in the field on causal identification via techniques like diff-in-diffs, regression discontinuity designs and RCTs.

My research also contributes methodologically by being among the pioneers using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in entrepreneurship. For example, my study “Social Influence in Entrepreneurial Career Choice” (Research Policy, 2017) was among the initial works using an RCT to analyze how mentorship affects entrepreneurial career decisions. In another example, my current RCT in Uganda explores how entrepreneurship training and microloans influence refugee entrepreneurs’ success. This work was recently recognized with a Stanford Social Impact Labs Fellowship Award. My contributions to methodological rigor in entrepreneurship research, particularly through causal identification techniques such as DiD, RCTs, and RDD, offer tools for addressing complex questions about the impacts of educational interventions on entrepreneurship.

In summary, my research advances understanding of how institutions, policies, and digital platforms shape entrepreneurship, contributing both to academic knowledge and actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders. My work has introduced significant concepts in institutional theory and entrepreneurship and has reshaped discussions in these fields. My publications, with over 5,775 citations, reflect the widespread influence of my work across disciplines and geographies. I am committed to expanding this research agenda to address emerging challenges in entrepreneurship and institutional design, particularly as global challenges like migration, algorithmic governance, and misinformation reshape the landscape of entrepreneurship.

Projects

2024-25 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • Companies inadvertently fund online misinformation despite consumer backlash. Nature Ahmad, W., Sen, A., Eesley, C., Brynjolfsson, E. 2024; 630 (8015): 123-131

    Abstract

    The financial motivation to earn advertising revenue has been widely conjectured to be pivotal for the production of online misinformation1-4. Research aimed at mitigating misinformation has so far focused on interventions at the user level5-8, with little emphasis on how the supply of misinformation can itself be countered. Here we show how online misinformation is largely financed by advertising, examine how financing misinformation affects the companies involved, and outline interventions for reducing the financing of misinformation. First, we find that advertising on websites that publish misinformation is pervasive for companies across several industries and is amplified by digital advertising platforms that algorithmically distribute advertising across the web. Using an information-provision experiment9, we find that companies that advertise on websites that publish misinformation can face substantial backlash from their consumers. To examine why misinformation continues to be monetized despite the potential backlash for the advertisers involved, we survey decision-makers at companies. We find that most decision-makers are unaware that their companies' advertising appears on misinformation websites but have a strong preference to avoid doing so. Moreover, those who are unaware and uncertain about their company's role in financing misinformation increase their demand for a platform-based solution to reduce monetizing misinformation when informed about how platforms amplify advertising placement on misinformation websites. We identify low-cost, scalable information-based interventions to reduce the financial incentive to misinform and counter the supply of misinformation online.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-024-07404-1

    View details for PubMedID 38840014

    View details for PubMedCentralID 6377495

  • Born into chaos: How founding conditions shape whether ventures survive or thrive when experiencing environmental change STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNAL Motley, D., Eesley, C. E., Koo, W. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.1002/sej.1461

    View details for Web of Science ID 000959465000001

  • In Institutions We Trust? Trust in Government and the Allocation of Entrepreneurial Intentions ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Eesley, C., Lee, Y. 2022: 1-25

    View details for DOI 10.1287/orsc.2022.1583

    View details for Web of Science ID 000804382700001

  • Entrepreneurial strategies during institutional changes: Evidence from China's economic transition STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNAL Wu, Y., Eesley, C. E., Yang, D. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1002/sej.1399

    View details for Web of Science ID 000679932000001

  • How Do Institutional Carriers Alleviate Normative and Cognitive Barriers to Regulatory Change? ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Armanios, D., Eesley, E. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1287/orsc.2021.1434

    View details for Web of Science ID 000709015500001

  • Regional Migration, Entrepreneurship and University Alumni Regional Studies Wu, Y., Eesley, C. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1080/00343404.2021.1934432

  • Understanding the motivations for open-source hardware entrepreneurship Design Science Li, Z., Seering, W., Yang, M., Eesley, C. 2021; 7 (e19)

    View details for DOI 10.1017/dsj.2021.15

  • Do university entrepreneurship programs promote entrepreneurship? STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Eesley, C. E., Lee, Y. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.3246

    View details for Web of Science ID 000583243800001

  • FOR STARTUPS, ADAPTABILITY AND MENTOR NETWORK DIVERSITY CAN BE PIVOTAL: EVIDENCE FROM A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENT ON A MOOC PLATFORM MIS QUARTERLY Eesley, C., Wu, L. 2020; 44 (2): 661–97

    View details for DOI 10.25300/MISQ/2020/15138

    View details for Web of Science ID 000537784700006

  • Entrepreneurship in dynamic environments: A comparison between the U.S. and China. Quarterly Journal of Management (管理学季刊） Wu, Y., Eesley, C. E., Eisenhardt, K. E. 2020; 5 (2): 1-17
  • Connected, But Still Lagging: Rural Sellers During Platform Change. Strategic Management Journal. Koo, W., Eesley, C. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.3259

  • The dark side of institutional intermediaries: Junior stock exchanges and entrepreneurship STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Eberhart, R. N., Eesley, C. E. 2018; 39 (10): 2643–65

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.2934

    View details for Web of Science ID 000444803800003

  • The persistence of entrepreneurship and innovative immigrants RESEARCH POLICY Lee, Y., Eesley, C. 2018; 47 (6): 1032–44

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2018.03.007

    View details for Web of Science ID 000434001600003

  • Institutions and Entrenreneurial Activity: The Interactive Influence of Misaligned Formal and Informal Institutions STRATEGY SCIENCE Eesley, C. E., Eberhart, R. N., Skousen, B. R., Cheng, J. C. 2018; 3 (2): 393–407

    View details for DOI 10.1287/stsc.2018.0060

    View details for Web of Science ID 000445070600003

  • Impact: Stanford University's Economic Impact via Innovation and Entrepreneurship FOUNDATIONS AND TRENDS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP Eesley, C. E., Miller, W. F. 2018; 14 (2): 130–278

    View details for DOI 10.1561/0300000074

    View details for Web of Science ID 000431012600001

  • A comparative analysis of Asian versus Asian American entrepreneurship: Evidence from Stanford University alumni Strategic, Policy and Social Innovation for a Post-Industrial Korea Lee, Y., Eesley, C. Routledge. 2018: 132–146
  • Brain drain, circulation, and linkage: Sequence analysis of Korean nationals graduating from Stanford University. Strategic, Policy and Social Innovation for a Post-Industrial Korea Choi, J., Eesley, C. Routledge. 2018: 115–131
  • Social influence in career choice: Evidence from a randomized field experiment on entrepreneurial mentorship RESEARCH POLICY Eesley, C., Wang, Y. 2017; 46 (3): 636-650

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2017.01.010

    View details for Web of Science ID 000395613400010

  • Failure Is an Option: Institutional Change, Entrepreneurial Risk, and New Firm Growth ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Eberhart, R. N., Eesley, C. E., Eisenhardt, K. M. 2017; 28 (1): 93-112

    View details for DOI 10.1287/orsc.2017.1110

    View details for Web of Science ID 000395830000006

  • THROUGH THE MUD OR IN THE BOARDROOM: EXAMINING ACTIVIST TYPES AND THEIR STRATEGIES IN TARGETING FIRMS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Eesley, C., DeCelles, K. A., Lenox, M. 2016; 37 (12): 2425-2440

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.2458

    View details for Web of Science ID 000388290800003

  • Institutional Barriers to Growth: Entrepreneurship, Human Capital and Institutional Change ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Eesley, C. 2016; 27 (5): 1290-1306

    View details for DOI 10.1287/orsc.2016.1077

    View details for Web of Science ID 000391220200013

  • Does Institutional Change in Universities Influence High-Tech Entrepreneurship? Evidence from China's Project 985 ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Eesley, C., Li, J. B., Yang, D. 2016; 27 (2): 446-461

    View details for DOI 10.1287/orsc.2015.1038

    View details for Web of Science ID 000375654300013

  • Understanding Entrepreneurial Process and Performance: A Cross-National Comparison of Alumni Entrepreneurship Between MIT and Tsinghua University Asian Journal for Innovation and Policy Eesley, C., Yang, D., Roberts, E., Li, T. 2016; 5 (2): 146-184
  • How entrepreneurs leverage institutional intermediaries in emerging economies to acquire public resources Strategic Management Journal Armanios, D., Eesley, C., Li, J., Eisenhardt, K. 2016
  • THE CONTINGENT EFFECTS OF TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS ON VENTURE PERFORMANCE: ALIGNING FOUNDING TEAM COMPOSITION WITH INNOVATION STRATEGY AND COMMERCIALIZATION ENVIRONMENT STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Eesley, C. E., Hsu, D. H., Roberts, E. B. 2014; 35 (12): 1798-1817

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.2183

    View details for Web of Science ID 000344327400005

  • Entrepreneurship Education Comes of Age on Campus: The Challenges and Rewards of Bringing Entrepreneurship to Higher Education Torrance, W. E., Rauch, J., Aulet, W., Blum, L., Burke, B., D'Ambrosio, T., Eesley, C. E. 2013
  • Are You Experienced or Are You Talented?: When Does Innate Talent versus Experience Explain Entrepreneurial Performance? STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNAL Eesley, C. E., Roberts, E. B. 2012; 6 (3): 207-219

    View details for DOI 10.1002/sej.1141

    View details for Web of Science ID 000308646300002

  • Review of: Winds of Change: The Environmental Movement and the Global Development of the Wind Energy Industry Administrative Science Quarterly Eesley, C., E., Hannah, D., P. 2012; 57: 359-362
  • Neurocognitive Impairments Essentials of Schizophrenia Keefe, R., Eesley, C. E. American Psychiatric Publishing. Washington, DC, 2012.. 2012
  • Bringing Ideas to Life IEEE International Recent Advances in Technology and Innovation Management Eesley, C. E., Hsu, D., Roberts, E. B. Wily Publications. 2012: 40–60
  • Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT - An Updated Report Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship Roberts, E., B., Eesley, C., E. 2011; 7 (1-2): 1-149
  • Private Environmental Activism and the Selection and Response of Firm Targets. Journal of Economics Management and Strategy Lenox, M., Eesley, C., E. 2009; 18 (1): 45-73
  • Neurocognition in Schizophrenia Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry Keefe, R., Eesley, C. E. edited by Sadock, B., Sadock, V. A., Ruiz, P. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins. 2009
  • Entrepreneurs from technology-based universities: Evidence from MIT Research Policy Hsu, D. H., Roberts, E. B., Eesley, C. E. 2007; 5 (36): 768-788
  • Implementing a Public Subsidy for Vaccines Pharmaceutical Innovation: Incentives, Competition, and Cost-Benefit Analysis in International Perspective Sloan, F. A., Eesley, C. E. edited by Sloan, F. A. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2007: 107–126
  • Firm Responses to Secondary Stakeholder Action Strategic Management Journal Eesley, C. E. 2006; 27 (8): 765-782

    View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.536

  • Governments as Insurers in Professional and Hospital Liability Insurance Markets Medical Malpractice and the U.S. Health Care System--New Century, Different Issues Sloan, F. A., Eesley, C. E. edited by Sage, W. M. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2006: 291–317
  • Defining a cognitive function decrement in schizophrenia Biological psychiatry Keefe, R. S., Eesley, C. E., Poe, M. P. 2005; 6 (57): 688-691
  • Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT Roberts, Edward, B., Eesley, Charles, E.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2348-1583