The Twenty-First-Century Firm: Changing Economic Organization in International Perspective. [Hardcover]

Paul DiMaggio (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Students of management are nearly unanimous (as are managers themselves) in believing that the contemporary business corporation is in a period of dizzying change. This book represents the first time that leading experts in sociology, law, economics, and management studies have been assembled in one volume to explain the varying ways in which contemporary businesses are transforming themselves to respond to globalization, new technologies, workforce transformation, and legal change. Together their essays, whose focal point is an emerging network form of organization, bring order to the chaotic tumble of diagnoses, labels, and descriptions used to make sense of this changing world. The first three chapters report systematically on change in corporate structure, strategy, and governance in the United States and Western Europe, East Asia, and the former socialist world. They separate fact from fiction and established trend from extravagant extrapolation. This is followed by commentaries on them: Reinier Kraakman affirms the durability of the corporate form; David Bryce and Jitendra Singh assess organizational change from an evolutionary perspective; Robert Gibbons considers the logic of relational contracting in firms; and Charles Tilly probes the deeper historical context in which firms operate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Twenty-First Century Firm is highly successful in unpacking the concept of network forms of organization. -- Martin Ruef , Administrative Science Quarterly

An important addition to the literature on organizations and economic sociology. -- Richard H. Hall, Contemporary Sociology

From the Inside Flap

"The Twenty-First Century Firm makes a substantial original contribution to organization studies. Discussions of the 'network form' have been around for some time. This book presents a serious attempt to draw together various conceptions of that form, compare them, and critically evaluate the claims for and against them. It will surely be read, debated, and appreciated widely." (Peter V. Marsden, Harvard University)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1St Edition edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691058512
• ISBN-13: 978-0691058511
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,051,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)