Skip to main content
  • 306 Accesses

Abstract

There is a fable in many cultures of what an elephant looks like to six blind men. The first of the six men who felt the elephant’s tail with his fingers described the elephant to be as thin as a rope or a snake. The second man who felt the elephant’s leg described the elephant like a huge pillar. The third man who felt the elephant’s tusk said the elephant was like a pipe. To the fourth man who felt the animal’s belly, the elephant was like a wall. To the fifth who felt the elephant’s ear, it was like a hand fan, and to the sixth man who felt the elephant’s trunk, the animal was like a tree branch.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anderson, P. F. (1982). “Marketing, Strategic Planning and the Theory of the Firm,” Journal of Marketing 44: 15–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alchian, A. A., and Demsetz, H. (1972). “Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization,” American Economic Review 62 (5): 777–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behrman, J. N., and Levin, R. I. (1984). “Are Business Schools Doing Their Job?” Harvard Business Review 62 (January/February): 140–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berle, A. A., and Means, G. C. (1932). The Modern Corporation and Private Property. New York: Macmillan Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. (1999). “Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct,” Business and Society 38 (3): 268–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coase, R. (1937). “The Nature of the Firm,” Economica 4 (16): 386–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crittenden, V. L., and Wilson, E. J. (2006). “An Exploratory Study of Cross-Functional Education in the Undergraduate Marketing Curriculum,” Journal of Marketing Education 28 (April): 81–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyert, R. M., and March, J. G. (1963). A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demsetz, H. (1983). “The Structure of Ownership and the Theory of the Firm,” Journal of Law and Economics 26: 375–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fama, E. (1980). “Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm” Journal of Political Economics 88 (2): 288–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fama, E., and Miller, M. H. (1972). The Theory of Finance. Hinsdale, IL: Dryden Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1970). “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” New York Times, September 13, 122–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F. A. (1933). “The Trend of Economic Thinking,” Economica 40 (May): 121–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, R. H., and Abernathy, W. J. (1980). “Managing Our Way to Economic Decline,” Harvard Business Review 38 (July–August): 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M. C., and Meckling, W. H. (1976). “Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure,” Journal of Financial Economics 3 (October): 305–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koku, P. S., Jagpal, S., and Viswanath, P. V. (1997). “The Effect of New Product Announcements and Preannouncements on Stock Price,” Journal of Market-Focused Management 2 (2): 183–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M-D, P. (2007). “A Review of the Theories of Corporate Social Responsibility: Its Evolutionary Path and the Road Ahead,” International Journal of Management Reviews 10 (1): 53–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovett, M. J., and MacDonald, J. B. (2005). “How Does Financial Performance Affect Marketing? Studying the Marketing-Finance Relationship from a Dynamic Perspective,” Academy of Marketing Science Journal 33 (4): 476–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. G., and Simon, H. A. (1958). Organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, A. (1890). The Principles of Economics. London: MacMillan Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., and Salancik, G. R. (1978). The External Control of Organizations. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plant, A. (1932). “Trends in Business Administration,” Economica 35 (February): 45–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. (1932). Economics Is a Serious Subject: The Apologia of an Economist to the Mathematician, the Scientist and the Plain Man. Cambridge, UK: W. Heffer and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1955). “A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 69 (February): 99–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1964). “On the Concept of Organizational Goal,” Administrative Science Quarterly 9 (June): 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry in to the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations, 1st ed. London: W. Strahan.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Copyright information

© 2014 Paul Sergius Koku

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Koku, P.S. (2014). Theory of the Firm. In: Decision Making in Marketing and Finance. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137444776_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics