Information and Organization: A New Perspective on the Theory of the Firm
Mark Casson
Abstract
Offers a vision of the economy as a system of structured information flow. The structuring is effected by institutions, and in particular, by firms, which specialize in processing the information needed to allocate resources properly. Market‐making firms that intermediate between producers and consumers by developing brands, are particularly important in this respect. Firms are the institutional embodiment of the visions of the entrepreneurs who found them. Firms grow and decline, creating a highly flexible structure of information processing in society, which evolves and adapts as circumstanc ... More
Offers a vision of the economy as a system of structured information flow. The structuring is effected by institutions, and in particular, by firms, which specialize in processing the information needed to allocate resources properly. Market‐making firms that intermediate between producers and consumers by developing brands, are particularly important in this respect. Firms are the institutional embodiment of the visions of the entrepreneurs who found them. Firms grow and decline, creating a highly flexible structure of information processing in society, which evolves and adapts as circumstances change. The book uses these general concepts to analyse the historical development of a number of specialist information subsystems, including business networks, industrial districts, and trading empires.
Keywords:
Coordination,
Entrepreneur,
firm,
Industrial Districts,
information,
intermediation,
Markets,
networks,
Organization
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2001 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198297802 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2003 |
DOI:10.1093/0198297807.001.0001 |
