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The Nature of the Firm – Static versus Developmental Interpretations

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Abstract

Different from the prevailing staticperspective in the theory of the firm, adevelopmental approach focuses on processes ofchange in firm organizations (rather than onstates and their properties). Although businesshistory provides ample evidence for systematicorganizational change, few contributions in theliterature take a developmental viewpoint andoffer explanations for the endogenous processesof change. To contrast static and developmentalinterpretations, the paper identifies threeparadigmatic questions for each of them. Theircomparison sheds some new light on the theoryof the firm and draws attention to theneglected entrepreneurial role inorganizational change.

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  1. Evolutionary Economics Unit, Max Planck Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Kahlaische Str. 10, D-07745, Jena, Germany

    Klaus Rathe & Ulrich Witt

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  1. Klaus Rathe
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  2. Ulrich Witt
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Rathe, K., Witt, U. The Nature of the Firm – Static versus Developmental Interpretations. Journal of Management & Governance 5, 331–351 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014051112548

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