IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ijecbs/v8y2001i3p379-403.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Capturing Knightian Advantages of Large Business Organisations Through Group Decision-making Processes

Author

Listed:
  • John Finch
  • Nicola Dinnei

Abstract

This paper develops an explanation of how large business organisations may achieve advantages of size by virtue of decision-making procedures. The argument is inspired by Knight's (Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, NewYork: Houghton Mifflin, 1921) model of internal business organisation, together with his explanation of profits pertaining to large business organisations by being connected with situations that he characterises as uncertain rather than risky. Capturing the decision-making advantages is fairly straightforward in Knight's explanation. Decision making is internalised to individuals who cope with uncertain situations— beyond the range of normal experience— in a manner consistent with managerial/entrepreneurial vision. Recent organisation theory has drawn attention to the use of groups as an integral part of decision making within large business organisations and this has important implications for economics. This paper highlights the role of groups in achieving Knightian advantages. The argument loosens the identification of organisation with a managerial/entrepreneurial vision, adding different levels and types of deliberate and automatic selection, the alignment of which is likely to be problematic.

Suggested Citation

  • John Finch & Nicola Dinnei, 2001. "Capturing Knightian Advantages of Large Business Organisations Through Group Decision-making Processes," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 379-403.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ijecbs:v:8:y:2001:i:3:p:379-403
    DOI: 10.1080/13571510110081187
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13571510110081187
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13571510110081187?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alchian, Armen A & Demsetz, Harold, 1972. "Production , Information Costs, and Economic Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 777-795, December.
    2. Daniel Friedman, 1998. "On economic applications of evolutionary game theory," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 15-43.
    3. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 1998. "The Approach of Institutional Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 166-192, March.
    4. Witt, Ulrich, 1998. "Imagination and leadership - The neglected dimension of an evolutionary theory of the firm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 161-177, April.
    5. Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1992. "Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 297-323, October.
    6. Steven Tadelis & Oliver E.Williamson, 2012. "Transaction Cost Economics [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    7. Johan Stein, 1997. "How Institutions Learn: A Socio-Cognitive Perspective," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 729-740, September.
    8. Armen A. Alchian, 1950. "Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58, pages 211-211.
    9. Langlois, Richard N & Cosgel, Metin M, 1993. "Frank Knight on Risk, Uncertainty, and the Firm: A New Interpretation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(3), pages 456-465, July.
    10. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 1997. "The evolutionary and non-Darwinian economics of Joseph Schumpeter," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 131-145.
    11. Lane, David & Malerba, Franco & Maxfield, Robert & Orsenigo, Luigi, 1996. "Choice and Action," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 43-76, February.
    12. Ancori, Bernard & Bureth, Antoine & Cohendet, Patrick, 2000. "The Economics of Knowledge: The Debate about Codification and and Tacit Knowledge," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 255-287, June.
    13. Foss, Nicolai J. (ed.), 1997. "Resources, Firms, and Strategies: A Reader in the Resource-Based Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198781790.
    14. Arthur T. Denzau & Douglass C. North, 1994. "Shared Mental Models: Ideologies and Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 3-31, February.
    15. Brian Loasby, 1999. "Making Connections - A Review of Neil M. Kay, Pattern in Corporate Evolution," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 439-452.
    16. Richard R. Nelson, 1991. "Why do firms differ, and how does it matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(S2), pages 61-74, December.
    17. Salvatore Rizzello, 1999. "The Economics of the Mind," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1900.
    18. Senker, Jacqueline, 1995. "Tacit Knowledge and Models of Innovation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 425-447.
    19. Hart, Oliver, 1995. "Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288817.
    20. John Finch, 2000. "Is post-Marshallian economics an evolutionary research tradition?," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 377-406.
    21. Richard Nelson, 1995. "Co-evolution of Industry Structure, Technology and Supporting Institutions, and the Making of Comparative Advantage," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(2), pages 171-184.
    22. Arthur, W Brian, 1994. "Inductive Reasoning and Bounded Rationality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 406-411, May.
    23. G. B. Richardson, 1953. "Imperfect Knowledge And Economic Efficiency," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 136-156.
    24. Eliasson, Gunnar, 1990. "The firm as a competent team," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 275-298, June.
    25. Demsetz, Harold, 1988. "The Theory of the Firm Revisited," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 141-161, Spring.
    26. G. B. Richardson, 1998. "The Economics of Imperfect Knowledge," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1524.
    27. G. Dosi & M. Egidi, 2000. "Substantive and Procedural Uncertainty: An Exploration of Economic Behaviours in Changing Environments," Chapters, in: Innovation, Organization and Economic Dynamics, chapter 5, pages 165-188, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    28. Northover, Patricia, 1999. "Evolutionary Growth Theory and Forms of Realism," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 33-63, January.
    29. Herbert A. Simon, 1955. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(1), pages 99-118.
    30. Runde, Jochen, 1998. "Clarifying Frank Knight's Discussion of the Meaning of Risk and Uncertainty," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(5), pages 539-546, September.
    31. D. E. Moggridge, 1995. "Comment," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 87-91, Supplemen.
    32. Cohen, Michael D, et al, 1996. "Routines and Other Recurring Action Patterns of Organizations: Contemporary Research Issues," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 653-698.
    33. Cecilia Chaing & Lindsay McSweeney, 2010. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," CPI Journal, Competition Policy International, vol. 6.
    34. John Nightingale, 1994. "Situational determinism revisited: scientific research programmes in economics twenty years on," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 233-252.
    35. Karen A. Bantel & Susan E. Jackson, 1989. "Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 107-124, June.
    36. Kahneman, Daniel & Tversky, Amos, 1979. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(2), pages 263-291, March.
    37. John Conlisk, 1996. "Why Bounded Rationality?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 669-700, June.
    38. Baker, George & Gibbons, Robert & Murphy, Kevin J, 1999. "Informal Authority in Organizations," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 56-73, April.
    39. Eliasson, Gunnar, 1988. "The Firm as a Competent Team," Working Paper Series 207, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised Feb 1990.
    40. Cowan, Robin & David, Paul A & Foray, Dominique, 2000. "The Explicit Economics of Knowledge Codification and Tacitness," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 211-253, June.
    41. Langlois, Richard N, 1998. "Personal Capitalism as Charismatic Authority: The Organizational Economics of a Weberian Concept," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 195-213, March.
    42. Williamson, Oliver E, 1971. "The Vertical Integration of Production: Market Failure Considerations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 112-123, May.
    43. Richardson, G B, 1972. "The Organisation of Industry," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 82(327), pages 883-896, September.
    44. R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), 1989. "Handbook of Industrial Organization," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2.
    45. Carroll, Glenn R. & Teece, David J. (ed.), 1999. "Firms, Markets, and Hierarchies: The Transaction Cost Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195119510.
    46. Tirole, Jean, 1986. "Hierarchies and Bureaucracies: On the Role of Collusion in Organizations," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 181-214, Fall.
    47. Holmstrom, Bengt, 1999. "The Firm as a Subeconomy," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 74-102, April.
    48. Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2000. "Knowledge, Innovation Activities and Industrial Evolution," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 289-313, June.
    49. R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), 1989. "Handbook of Industrial Organization," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    50. Shelia C. Dow & Peter E. Earl (ed.), 1999. "Economic Organization and Economic Knowledge," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1401.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kapás, Judit, 1999. "Szükséges-e többdimenziós vállalatelmélet?. Az evolúciós vállalatelmélet kritikai összefoglalása [Is a multi-dimensional theory of the firm necessary?. A critical summary of the evolutionary theory," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 823-841.
    2. Gibbons, Robert, 2005. "Four forma(lizable) theories of the firm?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 200-245, October.
    3. Richard N. Langlois & Nicolai J. Foss, 1999. "Capabilities and Governance: The Rebirth of Production in the Theory of Economic Organization," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 201-218, May.
    4. Uwe Cantner, 2017. "Foundations of Economic Change: An Extended Schumpeterian Approach," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & Uwe Cantner (ed.), Foundations of Economic Change, pages 9-49, Springer.
    5. Finch, John H. & Macmillan, Fiona E. & Simpson, Graeme S., 2002. "On the diffusion of probabilistic investment appraisal and decision-making procedures in the UK's upstream oil and gas industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 969-988, August.
    6. Fikret Adaman & Pat Devine, 2002. "A Reconsideration of the Theory of Entrepreneurship: A participatory approach," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 329-355.
    7. John Finch, 2000. "Is post-Marshallian economics an evolutionary research tradition?," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 377-406.
    8. Argandoña, Antonio, 2010. "From action theory to the theory of the firm," IESE Research Papers D/855, IESE Business School.
    9. Robert Gibbons, 2010. "Inside Organizations: Pricing, Politics, and Path Dependence," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 337-365, September.
    10. Dequech, David, 2006. "The new institutional economics and the theory of behaviour under uncertainty," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 109-131, January.
    11. Baker, George P. & Gibbons, Robert & Murphy, Kevin J., 2008. "Strategic alliances: Bridges between "islands of conscious power"," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 146-163, June.
    12. Kim, Jongwook & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2008. "A Strategic Theory of the Firm as a Nexus of Incomplete Contracts: A Property Rights Approach," Working Papers 08-0108, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    13. Gérard Charreaux, 2002. "Variation sur le thème:"À la recherche de nouvelles fondations pour la finance et la gouvernance d'entreprise"," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 5(3), pages 5-68, September.
    14. Williamson, Oliver E., 2007. "Transaction Cost Economics: An Introduction," Economics Discussion Papers 2007-3, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    15. Peter Maskell & Mark Lorenzen, 2004. "The Cluster as Market Organisation," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(5-6), pages 991-1009, May.
    16. Jain, Amit, 2011. "Connaissance, ressources, concurrence et les frontières de l'entreprise," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/6403 edited by Thiétart, Raymond-Alain.
    17. Hamed Tajedin & Hamed Tajedin & Mohammad Keyhani, 2019. "A Theory of Digital Firm-Designed Markets: Defying Knowledge Constraints with Crowds and Marketplaces," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 323-342, December.
    18. Caroli, Eve, 2007. "Internal Versus External Labour Flexibility: The Role of Knowledge Codification," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 201, pages 107-118, July.
    19. Volker Mahnke, 2001. "The Process of Vertical Dis-Integration: An Evolutionary Perspective on Outsourcing," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 5(3), pages 353-379, September.
    20. Michael G. Jacobides, 2008. "How Capability Differences, Transaction Costs, and Learning Curves Interact to Shape Vertical Scope," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 306-326, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:ijecbs:v:8:y:2001:i:3:p:379-403. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CIJB20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.