Strategy, Economic Organization, and the Knowledge Economy: The Coordination of Firms and Resources - Softcover

Foss, Nicolai J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199205329 ISBN 13: 9780199205325

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2006

Synopsis

The rise of the knowledge economy has far-reaching implications for the nature of economic organization as well as firm strategy. Not surprisingly, thinking in management studies as well as in economies has been profoundly affected by these changes. Thus, management thinking in particular has been increasingly characterized by a schism between those who advocate 'knowledge' or 'capabilities-based' approaches in the strategy and organization fields and those who adopt more economies-influenced approaches, notably the economics of organization. This book is a sustained attempt to overcome this schism. Its basic argument is that knowledge-based and organizational economics approaches are not substitutes but complements. In particular, organizational economics has much to contribute with respect to furthering the understanding of efficient organization and strategy in the emerging knowledge economy. This theme is taken through several theroretical as well as empirical variations. Themes such as the incentive liabilities of flat, 'knowledge-based' organizations, the role of complementary H.R.M. practices for fostering knowledge sharing and creation, and the role of organizational instruments in the knowledge management activities of the multinational corporate are extensively treated. The book thus contains important implications for knowledge management, organizational design and international management. The book encompasses nine chapters which critically examine current thinking on strategy, and organization. The reasoning is non-technical. While primarily aimed at a management studies audience, economists and other social scientists will also benefit from it, including Advanced Students, Academics and Researchers.

About this title

Review

Review from previous edition Nicolai Foss brings critical and integrative insights to organizations and management. Those interested in understanding new developments in strategic management will find this book compelling. (David Teece, University of California, Berkeley)

A thought-provoking effort at integrating organizational economics and business strategy, based on an unusually profound knowledge and respect for both research traditions. A precious contribution to the development of an emerging new field of study between economics and management. (Anna Grandori, Bocconi University)

This book is timely. The role of knowledge in the modern economy has been the subject of considerable woolly thinking. Nicolai Foss brings to the area an economist's clarity of thought together with a remarkable breadth of scholarship. The result is a substantial contribution to our understanding of organizational theory, the theory of the firm, and the nature of business strategy. (Robert Grant, City University, London)

With a keen eye, Nicolai Foss scrutinizes the foundations of the knowledge-based theory of the firm, offering an analysis that is at once critical and constructive. This will be an essential book for anyone working at the cross-roads of organizational economics and strategy. (Richard N. Langlois, University of Connecticutt)

About the Author

Nicolai J. Foss is Professor of Economic Organization at the Copenhagen Business School. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Governance, Competence, and Entrepreneurship: Advances in Economic Strategy Research (edited with Volker Mahnke, O.U.P., 2000) and Resources, Firms, and Strategy: A Reader in the Resource-Based Perspective (O.U.P., 1997).

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0199205329
• ISBN 13: 9780199205325
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 300