Alberto Martinelli was born in Milan in 1940, graduated in 1964 in Economics and Business at Bocconi University of Milan, and specialized in the methodology of social sciences. Later he obtained a Master degree (1968) and a Ph.D.(1975) in Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley. He became 'privat Dozent' in the Sociology of work in 1969 and has taught since then in the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Milan, first as associate professor of Economic Sociology and then, since 1980, as full professor of Economic Sociology and of Political Science. He has been for many years the Director of the Department of Sociology of the University of Milan. Between 1987 and 1999 he has been Dean of the Faculty of Political Science. At present, he is President of the Degree course in Political Sciences and of the Master course in Comparative Institutions and Politics. He chaired the Commission for international scientific cooperation and was the Rector's Delegate for international academic relations of the University of Milan. He also taught Sociology at Bocconi University of Milan and Political Science and Sociology in various foreign universities, among which the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and New York University. In 35 years of scholarly work he has written books and essays on political and sociological theory, development and modernization studies, international relations, complex organizations, entrepreneurship and management, interest groups, higher education, welfare policies. Among his most recent books in English are:

– Global Modernization, Sage, London,2005.
– Recent Social Trends in Italy (with A.Chiesi and S.Stefanizzi), McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal,1997.
– “Entrepreneurship and Management”, in N. J.Smelser and R.Swedberg eds., The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1994, 476-503.
– International Markets and Global Firms,1991.
– Economic and Society. Overviews on Economic Sociology (with N.J. Smelser) 1990


Between1998 and 2002 he was President of the International Sociological Association after having been Vice-president for the program(1994-1998) and chairperson of the 'Economy and Society' research committee (1986-1990), and is member of several international and national scientific associations.