Karl E.
Weick, the American organizational theorist who helped introduce the concepts of loose coupling, mindfulness and sensemaking into organizational studies, died on May 21, 2026. He was 89.
Born Karl Emmanuel Weick on October 31, 1936, in Warsaw, Indiana, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, in 1958 before going on to Ohio State University for graduate study, completing an M.A. in 1960 and a Ph.D. in 1962. Weick taught at the University of Michigan, where he held the Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professorship at the Ross School of Business, and was also associated with the University of Texas at Austin and Seattle University.
Karl E. Weick, 89, American organizational theorist.