ABSTRACT

In recent years transaction cost economics have come to dominate the discussion of the nature and organization of firms. In Transaction Costs Economics and Beyond Michael Dietrich offers a critical exploration of transaction costs. He argues that whilst they have much to offer, they are still an inadequate basis for a general theory of the firm. Drawing on theories of organizational behaviour as well as economics, he concludes by offering a theory of the firm that allows for both hierarchical and creative decision making.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part I Beyond transaction costs: the background

chapter 2|14 pages

The Transaction Cost Paradigm

chapter 3|17 pages

A General Framework

part |2 pages

Part II Beyond transaction costs: the boundaries of the firm

chapter 4|14 pages

. The Development of the Firm

chapter 5|14 pages

Related Integration and the Firm

chapter 6|14 pages

Unrelated Integration and the Firm

chapter 7|14 pages

Quasi-integration and the Firm

part |2 pages

Part III A new economics of the firm

chapter 8|15 pages

The Firm and Economic Theory

chapter 9|16 pages

The Firm as a System

chapter 10|16 pages

Economic Policy and the Firm

chapter 11|6 pages

Conclusions