Corporate Governance, Organization And The Firm
Co-operation and Outsourcing in the Global Economy
‘In this reputable book Professor Morroni has constructed an insightful framework of
three decisive factors for organizational coordination: capabilities, transaction,
scale-scope. Based on these, he has knitted a splendid tapestry of theoretical and
empirical information. This collection must be a standard for the theory of the firm.’
– Yuji Aruka, Chuo University, Japan
‘Organisations, networks and firms are three of the most dynamic areas of economic
research. This timely book synthesises these areas in order to analyse emergent phenomena
such as spatial clustering, outsourcing, relational complexity and radical technological
innovation. A combination of authoritative literature reviews, novel theoretical
developments and interesting case study applications makes this book essential reading for
both new and established scholars in the field.’
– Mark Casson, University of Reading, UK
In recent years, applied studies have shown widespread, profound and increasing
heterogeneity across firms in terms of their strategy, organization arrangement and
performance. This book investigates the diversity of business firms, offering a picture of
the different organizational settings they adopt in their endeavour to cope with
increasing competitive pressure.
The book addresses critical theoretical issues surrounding corporate governance,
organizational design and cooperative relations among firms. Moreover, it provides new
evidence on the various forms of outsourcing that are playing an increasingly important
role as a consequence of globalization. The contributions collected in this book stress
the emergence of a trend towards a reorganization of production that can enhance the
transmission, development and maintenance of knowledge in order to sustain long-run
competitive advantage.
Providing original and pertinent empirical evidence, this book will attract interest from
scholars and postgraduate students studying the economics and organization of the firm. It
will also be of value to managers who wish to understand new developments in the
organizational settings of business firms with particular reference to corporate
governance, organizational design, cooperative relations, outsourcing and de-localization.
Edited by Mario Morroni, Department of Economics, University of Pisa,
Italy
Contents:
1. Introduction: Organizational Variety and Economic Performance
Mario Morroni
PART I: THEORETICAL ASPECTS
2. The Stakeholder Corporate Governance View Revisited
Mirella Damiani
3. The Governance of the Knowledge-Intensive Firm in an Industry Life Cycle
Approach
Jackie Krafft and Jacques-Laurent Ravix
4. Types of Complementarity, Combinative Organization Forms and Structural
Heterogeneity: Beyond Discrete Structural Alternatives
Anna Grandori and Santi Furnari
5. Oliver Williamson and the Logic of Hybrid Organizations
Claude Ménard
6. Organization of Firms, Knowing Communities and Limits of Networks in a
Knowledge-Intensive Context
Patrick Cohendet and Patrick Llerena
PART II: APPLIED ANALYSES
7. Short-term Gain, Long-term Pain? Implications of Outsourcing for Organizational
Innovation and Productivity
Andreas Reinstaller and Paul Windrum
8. The General Profile of the Outsourcing Firm: Evidence for a Local Production
System of Emilia Romagna
Massimiliano Mazzanti, Sandro Montresor and Paolo Pini
9. Technical Capital and Social Capital in Outsourcing Networks: Complements or
Substitutes?
Rafael Pardo and Ruth Rama
10. Manufacturing Abroad While Making Profits at Home: The Veneto Footwear and
Clothing Industry
Carlo Gianelle and Giuseppe Tattara
Index
256 pages, Hardcover
