scholarly journals Organizations and Markets

2015 ◽  
pp. 271-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai J. Foss ◽  
Pierre Klein ◽  
Stefan Linder
Keyword(s):  
Recent Literature ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Austrian Economics ◽  
Economic Calculation ◽  
Austrian Theory ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Structure Of Production

Austrian economics focuses on markets but has much to say about organizations. In particular, Austrian insights on the structure of production, the heterogeneity and subjectivity of resources, the nature of uncertainty, the role of monetary calculation, and the function of the entrepreneur provide solid foundations for a distinctly Austrian theory of organizations. This chapter reviews these insights, discusses recent literature on Austrian economics and the theory of the firm, and suggests new directions for developing and extending an Austrian approach to organizations. In doing so it answers the following questions: Why, do organizations, large and small, emerge and persist? How do they avoid the problem of economic calculation faced by socialist economies? Why do organizations take the shapes they do, why do their characteristics vary over time and across industries, and why do they succeed or fail? Are most organizations stable over time, or do organizations, like markets, adapt and learn? and How do entrepreneurs arrange assets and manage individuals within organizations?

Book Reviews

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-121
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycles ◽  
Austrian Economics ◽  
Austrian School ◽  
Market Process ◽  
Florida State University ◽  
State University ◽  
Economic Calculation ◽  
The Core

Roger W. Garrison of Auburn University reviews “Advanced Introduction to the Austrian School of Economics”, by Randall G. Holcombe. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Provides an introduction and summary of the core principles, ideas, and diversity of modern Austrian economics. Discusses the market process; decentralized knowledge—the role of firms and markets; economic calculation; money, banking, and business cycles; and the resurgence of the Austrian school. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University.”

Exploring the Role of IS in Dynamic Capabilities

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Duhan ◽  
Margi Levy ◽  
Philip Powell
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Dynamic Capability ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Capability Development ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Systemic View

Resource-based theory suggests that firms develop idiosyncratic capabilities that contribute to sustainable competitive advantage when they are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. The successful use of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) has been linked to improved firm performance. Recent literature suggests that a deeper understanding of what capability means in practice may be gained from a disaggregation into component competences and resources. A better understanding of the role of IS/IT in business level capability may be achieved through a fuller articulation, both of the capability itself, and the contribution of IS/IT, together with an evaluation of the effectiveness in delivering sustainable competitive advantage. A dynamic capabilities perspective explains the way firms adapt capabilities to changing market environments over time. This paper explores these propositions through an exploratory case study using a framework derived from a resource-based and systemic view of the firm. The analysis suggests a dynamic Capability Development Model through which the implications and potential for IS and IT over time may be understood. The paper addresses three issues. First, it offers a better articulation of what capability concepts mean in practice. Second, it takes a disaggregated understanding of capabilities, and third, it sheds light on the dynamics of capabilities.

Reflections on Deliberative Democracy

2018 ◽  
pp. 899-912
Author(s):  
Amy Gutmann ◽  
Dennis Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Mutual Respect ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Over Time

The disparity between the theory and practice of deliberative democracy should stimulate theorists not only to try to improve practice but also to develop the theory in new directions. Theorists need to pay more attention to the role of science in deliberation, the place of non-deliberative institutions, the legitimacy of decision-making deliberative bodies, and forms of institutional support for deliberation over time, such as civic education. The encounter with practice also shows that a theoretical understanding of mutual respect may be more important than continuing to insist on consensus. Systematic comparisons between deliberative and non-deliberative institutions and systems could help keep expectations for the future of deliberative democracy in perspective.

scholarly journals Intra-Firm Coordination through Rule-Following and the Emergence of Hierarchy

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-382
Author(s):  
Aidan Walsh ◽  
Malcolm Brady
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Spontaneous Order ◽  
Coordination Mechanisms ◽  
Rule Following ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Austrian Theory ◽  
Conventional View

Rules and rule-following are becoming better understood as decision-making and coordination mechanisms. Further, that hierarchy is an under-appreciated element of natural spontaneous, rule-based, orders has caused confusion. The article argues firstly that the ability to meld rule-following and hierarchy in one theory of the firm presents an opportunity for a possible consistent Austrian theory of the firm. The paper then proceeds to discuss how rule-following is embedded in conventional theories of the firm and how a rule-based firm can create value in the larger spontaneous order of the extended market. The paper concludes by arguing that even though conventional views around hierarchy and the giving of orders within a firm may have a role, the conventional view may be under-privileging the role of rules, rule-following and the consequent natural emergence of hierarchy.

Raza, ciencia, sociedad

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Wade
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Discourse ◽  
Human Biology ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Race Science ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Over Time

<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Resumen </strong></span>| En este trabajo quiero presentar una cronología convencional del concepto raza que marca un movimiento en el cual raza cambia de ser una idea basada en la cultura y el medio ambiente, a ser algo biológico, inflexible y determinante, para luego volver a ser una noción que habla de la cultura<span class="s2"><strong>.</strong></span>Resumo cómo la idea de raza ha cambiado a través del tiempo, mirando necesariamente el rol que ha desempeñado la ciencia, y enfocando los diferentes discursos de índole <em>natural-cultural </em>sobre los cuerpos, el medio ambiente y el comportamiento, en los cuales las dimensiones culturales y naturales siempre coexisten<span class="s2"><strong>.</strong></span>“La naturaleza” no puede ser entendida solamente como “la biología” y ni la naturaleza ni la biología necesariamente implican sólo el determinismo, la fijeza y la inmutabilidad Estar abiertos a la coexistencia de la cultura y la naturaleza y a la mutabilidad de la naturaleza nos permite ver mejor el ámbito de acción del pensamiento racial.</p><p class="p1"><strong><em>Race, Science and Society</em></strong></p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><strong>Abstract </strong></span>| In this article I present and critique a standard chronology of race as, first, a concept rooted in culture and environment, and later in human biology and determinism, and finally back to culture alone<span class="s2"><strong><em>.</em></strong></span>I will outline changing understandings of race over time, with some attention to the role of science, broadly understood, and on the continuing but changing character of race as a natural-cultural discourse about organic bodies, environments and behavior, in which both cultural and natural dimensions always co-exist<span class="s2"><strong><em>.</em></strong></span>“Nature” is not to be understood simply as “biology,” and neither nature nor biology necessarily imply the fixity and determination that they are often assumed nowadays to involve<span class="s2"><strong><em>.</em></strong></span>Being open to the co-existence of culture and nature and the mutability of the latter allows us to better comprehend the whole range of action of racial thinking.</p>

The Non-Causal Character of Renormalization Group Explanations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Renormalization Group ◽  
Dynamical Systems ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Mathematical Explanation ◽  
Causal Status ◽  
Physical Information ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Structural Aspects

After reviewing some of the recent literature on non-causal and mathematical explanation, this chapter develops an argument as to why renormalization group (RG) methods should be seen as providing non-causal, yet physical, information about certain kinds of systems/phenomena. The argument centres on the structural character of RG explanations and the relationship between RG and probability theory. These features are crucial for the claim that the non-causal status of RG explanations involves something different from simply ignoring or “averaging over” microphysical details—the kind of explanations common to statistical mechanics. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the role of RG in treating dynamical systems and how that role exemplifies the structural aspects of RG explanations which in turn exemplifies the non-causal features.

Biopsychosocial Patterning of Multimorbidity and Its Consequences

2018 ◽  
pp. 220-236
Author(s):  
Elliot Friedman ◽  
Beth LeBreton ◽  
Lindsay Fuzzell ◽  
Elizabeth Wehrpsann
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chronic Medical Conditions ◽  
Quality Of Life Research ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Over Time

By many estimates the majority of adults over age 65 have two or more chronic medical conditions (multimorbidity) and are consequently at increased risk of adverse functional outcomes. Nonetheless, many older adults with multimorbidity are able to maintain high levels of function and retain good quality of life. Research presented here is designed to understand the influences that help ensure better functional outcomes in these older adults. This chapter presents findings that draw on data from the Midlife in the United States study. The independent and interactive contributions of diverse factors to multimorbidity and changes in multimorbidity over time are reviewed. The degree that multimorbidity increases risk of cognitive impairment and disability is examined. The role of inflammation as a mediator is considered. Multimorbidity is increasingly the norm for older adults, so better understanding of factors contributing to variability in multimorbidity-related outcomes can lead to improved quality of life.

scholarly journals The Struggle Against Torture: Challenges, Assumptions and New Directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333
Author(s):  
Tobias Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Current State ◽  
New Directions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emerging Themes ◽  
Short Essay ◽  
Forms Of Violence

Abstract This short essay offers a broad and necessarily incomplete review of the current state of the human rights struggle against torture and ill-treatment. It sketches four widespread assumptions in that struggle: 1) that torture is an issue of detention and interrogation; 2) that political or security detainees are archetypal victims of torture; 3) that legal reform is one of the best ways to fight torture; and 4) that human rights monitoring helps to stamp out violence. These four assumptions have all played an important role in the history of the human rights fight against torture, but also resulted in limitations in terms of the interventions that are used, the forms of violence that human rights practitioners respond to, and the types of survivors they seek to protect. Taken together, these four assumptions have created challenges for the human rights community in confronting the multiple forms of torture rooted in the deep and widespread inequality experienced by many poor and marginalized groups. The essay ends by pointing to some emerging themes in the fight against torture, such as a focus on inequality, extra-custodial violence, and the role of corruption.

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