Guillaume Dumont

I am an Associate Professor of Anthropology and director of the Institute for Ethnographic Research at emlyon Business School.

My research offers finely grained, people-centred perspectives on hidden organizational and workplace dynamics across legal and illegal markets. I am the author of several books, including “Professional Climber” (Ehess, 2018) and “The Professionalization of Action Sports” (Routledge, 2022). My recent book “Impact Work” (Palgrave MacMillan, 2024) reveals the intricate behind-the-scenes socialization through which entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and policy learn the ropes of the impact entrepreneurship.

My current book projects include a co-edited volume titled “The Organization of Illegal Marketplaces” and an ethnographic monograph titled “Narcopisos. Drugs, Crime, and Urban Marginalization in Downtown Barcelona.” 

My research has appeared in journals such as The Academy of Management Discoveries; New Media & Society; Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice; Ethnography; Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal; New Technologies Work and Employment; Journal of Business Ethics; Social Inclusion; Organizational Research Methods; Consumption, Market and Culture, and has been featured in Liberation, Le Monde Diplomatique, Alpimag, Pop Science, Public Senat, The Irish Time, Recruiter UK, Fintechbloom, Recruiting News Network, among other popular media.

I completed my Ph.D. in Public Anthropology from the Autonomous University of Madrid and Sociology from the University of Lyon (2016). I have held visiting positions at UCLA, IESE Business School, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Jonkoping International Business School, Colorado University, the Open University of Catalunya, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. 

Starting in September 2025, I will be a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at UC Berkeley.