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A naturalistic theory of economic organization

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  • Stoelhorst, J.W.
  • Richerson, Peter J.

Abstract

We develop a theory of economic organization grounded in the naturalistic paradigm currently emerging at the intersection of biology and the behavioral and social sciences. The crux of this approach is the recognition that an understanding of the evolutionary origins of human organizational capabilities can inform theories of contemporary economic organization. Modern firms sustain large scale cooperation by applying cultural ‘work-arounds’ to tribal instincts that evolved from simultaneous within-group and between-group competition on a much smaller scale. We translate this insight into ten principles of economic organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Stoelhorst, J.W. & Richerson, Peter J., 2013. "A naturalistic theory of economic organization," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(S), pages 45-56.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:90:y:2013:i:s:p:s45-s56
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.012
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    Cited by:

    1. Kurt Dopfer, 2013. "Economics with a Phylogenetic Signature," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2013-06, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    2. Schlaile, Michael P. & Bogner, Kristina & Muelder, Laura, 2021. "It’s more than complicated! Using organizational memetics to capture the complexity of organizational culture," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 801-812.
    3. Gilles, Robert P. & Lazarova, Emiliya A. & Ruys, Pieter H.M., 2015. "Stability in a network economy: The role of institutions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 375-399.
    4. Tobias Johansson, 2022. "Do Evaluative Pressures and Group Identification Cultivate Competitive Orientations and Cynical Attitudes Among Academics?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 761-780, April.
    5. Zhanna Chupina & Alexander Chursin & Andrew Boginsky & Ivan Kvasov, 2023. "Sustainable Economic Development of Enterprises: A Methodology Based on the Toolkit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-15, August.
    6. George Liagouras, 2017. "The challenge of Evo-Devo: implications for evolutionary economists," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 795-823, September.
    7. Abatecola, Gianpaolo & Breslin, Dermot & Kask, Johan, 2020. "Do organizations really co-evolve? Problematizing co-evolutionary change in management and organization studies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    8. Su, Tong-Yaa, 2016. "Competition between Firms in Economic Evolution: Its Characteristics and Differences to the Biological Sphere," MPRA Paper 72756, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Burnham, Terence C., 2013. "Toward a neo-Darwinian synthesis of neoclassical and behavioral economics," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(S), pages 113-127.
    10. Robert P. Gilles, 2017. "Comments on: Games with a permission structure - A survey on generalizations and applications," TOP: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 25(1), pages 34-38, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Evolutionary theory; Multi-level selection; Gene-culture co-evolution; Cooperation; Economic organization; Ethics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights

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