Oxford Management Readers – serie

A new addition to the series that looks at the culture and role of the entrepreneur from different disciplinary perspectives. Includes all the key readings, introduced by a highly respected editor.

A new addition to the series that looks at the culture and role of the entrepreneur from different disciplinary perspectives. Includes all the key readings, introduced by a highly respected editor.

What is a firm? Why do firms exist? How is production and administration best co-ordinated? What are the reasons for vertical integration? And disintegration? Is there a conflict between establishing and developing long-term relationships on the one hand, and the operation of free market competition on the other? Is there a choice between markets and hierarchies? What about networks and clans? These questions continue to be explored with economics, management, sociology and other related disciplines.Firms, Organizations and Contracts brings together the best inter-disciplinary analysis of the topic, and contains classic contributions and material not normally seen by those outside their own particular disciplines. It combines pioneer articles with more recent discussions of an area attracting growing attention amongst those studying industrial organization--whether on courses in economics, management, strategy, organization, law, or public administration.The volume includes Coase's initial enquiry into `The Nature of the Firm' and Ouchi's analysis of `Markets, bureaucracies and clans'; Kaldor's questioning of `The Nature of the Firm' and Dore's discussion of `Goodwill and the spirit of market capitalism'.This book will be an invaluable tool for students in economics, management and sociology. In view of the growing use of contracts within the public sector, and within the private regulated sector, the book also sets out some of the key issues of concern to policy makers and public sector strategists.

What is a firm? Why do firms exist? How is production and administration best co-ordinated? What are the reasons for vertical integration? And disintegration? Is there a conflict between establishing and developing long-term relationships on the one hand, and the operation of free market competition on the other? Is there a choice between markets and hierarchies? What about networks and clans? These questions continue to be explored with economics, management, sociology and other related disciplines.Firms, Organizations and Contracts brings together the best inter-disciplinary analysis of the topic, and contains classic contributions and material not normally seen by those outside their own particular disciplines. It combines pioneer articles with more recent discussions of an area attracting growing attention amongst those studying industrial organization - whether on courses in economics, management, strategy, organization, law or public administration.The volume includes Coase's initial enquiry into `The Nature of the Firm' and Ouchi's analysis of `Markets, bureaucracies and clans'; Kaldor's questioning of `The Nature of the Firm' and Dore's discussion of `Goodwill and the spirit of market capitalism'.This book will be an invaluable tool for students in economics, management and sociology. In view of the growing use of contracts within the public sector, and within the private regulated sector, the book also sets out some of the key issues of concern to policy makers and public sector strategists.

Strategic management has been increasingly characterized by an emphasis on core competences. Firms are advised to divest unrelated businesses and return to core business. Moreover, competitive advantage is now increasingly seen as a matter of efficiently deploying scarce knowledge resources to product markets. Much of this change in emphasis has occurred because of the emergence of a unified and rigorous approach to strategy, often called the resource-based approach. This Reader brings together extracts from the seminal articles that created this dominant perspective in strategic management. It includes the pioneering work of Selznick, Penrose, and Chandler and more recent writing by Wernerfelt, Barney, Teece, and Prahalad and Hamel.

Strategic management has been increasingly characterized by an emphasis on core competences. Firms are advised to divest unrelated businesses and return to core business. Moreover, competitive advantage is now increasingly seen as a matter of efficiently deploying scarce knowledge resources to product markets. Much of this change in emphasis has occurred because of the emergence of a unified and rigorous approach to strategy, often called the resource-based approach. This Reader brings together extracts from the seminal articles that created this dominant perspective in strategic management. It includes the pioneering work of Selznick, Penrose, and Chandler and more recent writing by Wernerfelt, Barney, Teece, and Prahalad and Hamel.

What is leadership? Are leaders made or born? Are the characteristics and challenges of leadership the same across time and cultures? Do leaders 'pull' or are they 'pushed'? Are leaders driven by needs that may be dysfunctional to the organizations they lead? Do women leaders behave differently from men? Should we look for models of business and organizational leadership in military organizations? These are all just some of the questions posed in this Reader which includes key statements from classical philosophy (Plato, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli) through to modern management writers (Barnard, Kets de Vries, Fiedler, Rosener). The collection will be invaluable to students and managers taking a range of courses in business management and leadership training. In his Introduction, Keith Grint both surveys current thinking on leadership and provides an excellent `road map' of the readings which are grouped under five headings: Classical, Traditional, Modern, Mythical, and Alternative.

What is leadership? Are leaders made or born? Are the characteristics and challenges of leadership the same across time and cultures? Do leaders `pull' or are they `pushed'? Are leaders driven by needs that may be dysfunctional to the organizations they lead? Do women leaders behave differently from men? Should we look for models of business and organizational leadership in military organizations? These are all just some of the questions posed in this Reader which includes key statements from classical philosophy (Plato, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli) through to modern management writers (Barnard, Kets de Vries, Fiedler, Rosener). The collection will be invaluable to students and managers taking a range of courses in business management and leadership training. In his Introduction, Keith Grint both surveys current thinking on leadership and provides an excellent `road map' of the readings which are grouped under five headings: Classical, Traditional, Modern, Mythical, and Alternative.

This book addresses the basic concepts and theories of collaborative strategy.It presents an introduction on the topic of alliance research. This volume goes on to suggest the economics perspectives on alliances as well as how to select the most beneficial alliance. It also presents features a section on real options, an important and emerging feature in the area of strategy. The concluding section introduces relational perspectives of collaborative strategy.

This reader will provide an introduction to the basic theories and concepts in the area of collaborative strategy as well as an overview of current evidence on alliances. Alliance research has become something of a cottage industry, with scores of recent articles on the subject. Thus, one aim of the book is to provide readers with a road map of where to start for some of the most important perspectives on collaborative strategy. The book begins with articles presenting a broad picture of alliance research. Each of these pieces individually provides a solid and helpful literature review and introduction to the topic. The book then considers economic perspectives on alliances, which examine the question of what prompts firms to enter into collaboration with others, and when alliances are suitable relative to alternatives such as internal development and acquisitions. The third portion of the book takes up real options, an emerging perspective which is currently popular in the strategy field as a whole, and has likewise changed how one thinks about alliance motives and what determines the usefulness of short-lived collaborations for parent firms. This section offers the pioneering piece as well as some empirical evidence relating to the prospects for this new perspective on alliances. The book then considers learning perspectives on alliances. This section begins with work examining learning within individual alliances and the competitive processes that shape the dynamics of inter-firm collaboration. It then proceeds to address the question of whether firms can develop an alliance capability in general and through accumulated experience in particular. The concluding section introduces readers to relational perspectives of collaborative strategy.

In today's ultra-competitive global economy, intangibles are increasingly taking centre stage in firms' business strategies and investors' valuations. Physical and financial assets are becoming commodities, yielding at best a competitive return on investment. In their place, intangible assets such as patents, brands, unique business processes, breakthrough scientific discoveries and strategic alliances are what firms are using to create dominant market positions, control risk, generate abnormal profits, and achieve growth and wealth. The dramatic rise and fall of high-technology company valuations has brought the unusual economic characteristics of intangible assets into the public arena. The concurrent advantages and vulnerabilities of intangible-intensive companies has highlighted the importance of having an in-depth understanding of the economics of intangibles and developing tools to better manage and evaluate them. This reader provides that understanding by bringing together the best research and advocacy on intangibles.

In today's ultra-competitive global economy, intangibles are increasingly taking centre stage in firms' business strategies and investors' valuations. Physical and financial assets are becoming commodities, yielding at best a competitive return on investment. In their place, intangible assets such as patents, brands, unique business processes, breakthrough scientific discoveries, and strategic alliances are what firms are using to create dominant market positions, control risk, generate abnormal profits, and achieve growth and wealth. The dramatic rise and fall of high-technology company valuations over the past five years has brought the unusual economic characteristics of intangible assets into the public arena. The concurrent advantages and vulnerabilities of intangible-intensive companies has highlighted the importance of having an in-depth understanding of the economics of intangibles and developing tools to better manage and evaluate them.This Reader provides that understanding by bringing together the best research and advocacy on intangibles. The chapters provide a comprehensive tableau of both rigorous perspectives and empirical evidence about intangible assets by scholars and policy makers in accounting, economics, finance, and information technology. As such, the Reader both informs and sets a solid foundation for the next generation of challenging questions that need to be addressed.The Reader has four sections: Section I explains why intangibles have become so important in the modern economy. Section II investigates the impact of specific kinds of intangibles on firm performance and equity market values. Section III documents the severe adverse effects of the informational deficiencies that are created by the accounting and financial reporting rules that govern intangibles. Finally, the chapters in Section IV call for improved disclosure and measurement of intangibles in financial statements, and make concrete suggestions for what such solutions should look like.

This text presents the classic works on organizational identity alongside more current thinking on the issues. Ranging from theoretical contributions to empirical studies, the readings in this volume address the key issues of organizational identity, and show how these issues have developed through contributions from such diverse fields of study as sociology, psychology, management studies and cultural studies. The readings examine questions such as how organizations understand who they are, why organizations develop a sense of identity and belonging, where the boundaries of identity lie and the implications of postmodern and critical theories' challenges to the concept of identity as deeply-rooted and authentic.

Organizational Identity presents the classic works on organizational identity alongside more current thinking on the issues.Ranging from theoretical contributions to empirical studies, the readings in this volume address the key issues of organizational identity, and show how these issues have developed through contributions from such diverse fields of study as sociology, psychology, management studies and cultural studies. The readings examine questions such as how organizations understand who they are, why organizations develop a sense of identity and belonging, where the boundaries of identity lie and the implications of postmodern and critical theories' challenges to the concept of identity as deeply-rooted and authentic.Includes work by: Stuart Albert, Mats Alvesson, Blake E. Ashforth, Marilynn B. Brewer, George Cheney, Lars Thøger Christensen, C. H. Cooley, Kevin G. Corley, Barbara Czarniawska, Janet M. Dukerich, Jane E. Dutton, Kimberly D. Elsbach, Wendi Gardner, Linda E. Ginzela, Dennis A. Gioia, E. Goffman, Karen Golden-Biddle, Mary Jo Hatch, Roderick M. Kramer, Fred Mael, G. H. Mead, Michael G. Pratt, Anat Rafaeli, Hayagreeva Rao, Majken Schultz, Howard S. Schwartz, Robert I. Sutton, Henri Taijfel, John Turner, David A. Whetten, and Hugh WillmottIntended to provide easy access to this material for students of organizational identity, it will also be of interest more broadly to students of business, sociology, and psychology.

'Critical Management Studies', or 'CMS', describes a diverse group of work that has adopted a critical or questioning approach to the traditional concerns of Management Studies, and the growing interest in CMS has produced a vibrant and exciting body of research.Christopher Grey and Hugh Willmott, leading authorities in this area, introduce seventeen readings which reflect these developments, and show CMS' importance. As an assessment of CMS, the Reader will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of Management Studies. As an introduction to CMS, it will prove invaluable to students taking courses requiring familiarity with the CMS literature.

'Critical Management Studies', or 'CMS', has emerged over the last ten years as the term to describe a diverse group of work that has adopted a critical or questioning approach to the traditional concerns of Management Studies. In this time, CMS has come to exert an increasing influence in Management and Management Studies, and while it has prompted fierce debate about its validity and use, there is no doubt that the rapidly growing interest in CMS has produced a vibrant and exciting body of work.Christopher Grey and Hugh Willmott, leading authorities in this area, have collected together seventeen readings which reflect these developments, and show why CMS has become an important field of research. The book is divided into four sections, 'Anticipating CMS', looking at some of the roots of CMS, 'Studying Management Critically', 'Critical Studies of Management', and 'Assessing CMS', examining some of the internal and external critical discussions of CMS. Each reading and its significance is introduced by the editors, and in their introduction to the Reader, they reflect more broadly on the history of CMS. In particular, they consider its institutionalization, both in terms of its becoming an identifiable body of work or approach, and its institutional context within business schools, and indeed what it means to produce a Reader of critical work.As an assessment of CMS, the Reader will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of Management Studies. As an introduction to CMS, the book will prove invaluable to students taking courses requiring familiarity with the CMS literature.Includes work by:Paul S. Adler, Mats Alvesson, P. D. Anthony, James R. Barker, Loren Baritz, Stewart Clegg, Bill Cooke, Stanley Deetz, David Dunkerley, Christopher Grey, Heather Hopfl, David Knights, Richard Marsden, C Wright Mills, Martin Parker, Rosemary Pringle, Paul Thompson, Barbara Townley, Hugh Willmott, and Edward Wray-Bliss.

Organizational trust is a subject which has over the past decade become of increasing importance to organizational theory and research. This book examines what trust is, how it is developed and maintained, its underpinnings, manifestations, and its fragility, through a presentation and discussion of key readings.

Over the past two decades, the topic of trust moved from bit player to center stage in organizational theory and research. Whereas previously it often had been treated as a mediating variable in empirical studies - a variable of secondary interest, at best - trust emerged in the 1990s as a subject deemed important and worthy of study in its own right. Despite the importance of the topic, to date no single volume currently exists that provides the motivated reader with a sound introduction to, and reasonable overview of, this rapidly growing, widely dispersed, multi-disciplinary literature. Indeed, some of the most influential, foundational pieces remain scattered in obscure journals or books, some of which are not easily found or, in some instances, no longer even in print. Thus the individual scholar hoping to come up to speed with this literature currently had nowhere to turn. This reader provides trust scholars and researchers with a handy reference volume, a broad guide for graduate students hoping to understand and possibly contribute to this significant and still-growing literature, and a resource for teachers at the undergraduate level of undergraduate anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, organizational sciences, and sociology courses.

Over the past decade, knowledge and learning have emerged as the keys to economic success and as a focus for thinking about organizational effectiveness and innovation. An overwhelming majority of large organizations now engage in a wide range of knowledge and learning activities and nearly all have programs and personnel explicitly dedicated to these tasks. The volume is targeted at those new to knowledge and learning, and is filled with practical examples and focuses on the most critical issues, featuring seminal contributions from leading authorities including:* Thomas Davenport,* Dorothy Leonard,* John Seely Brown,* Sidney Winter,* W. Chan Kim,* Peter Druckard.The book is organized around the three key steps in managing knowledge: development, retention, and transfer. These sections are preceded by a section creating the strategic context for knowledge and followed by a section on the social dimensions that are often overlooked. Finally, the book looks to the future of knowledge and learning. This Reader is an accessible way for executives and students taking advanced Management Studies and executive courses to learn from the latest examples on this topic.