Business Anthropology Comes of Age

Business anthropology is leading a future direction for anthropology and is asserting itself on the global stage. While its origins date to the 1930s (Jordan 2013, 9-22), business anthropology gained traction in the 1980s and ‘90s. Business anthropology is again on the rise: More companies are hiring anthropologists and the pace and volume of scholarly publications is growing. Today, business anthropologists work in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and contribute to economic development globally. Where it is taught, business anthropology educates students about the culture of work and exchange, advancing cross-cultural understanding.