IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v24y2003i4p283-290.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strategy as economics versus economics as strategy

Author

Listed:
  • Richard N. Langlois

    (Department of Economics, The University of Connecticut, U63 Storrs, CT 06269-1063, USA)

Abstract

Clearly, strategy and economics differ along one critical dimension: strategy is concerned descriptively with firms and normatively with the tasks of managers, whereas economics is concerned descriptively with the entire economic system and normatively with the efficiency of that system. Nonetheless, the overlap is considerable, and both management scholars and economists have ransacked economic thought for inspirations to strategic theory and managerial practice. This essay will examine and evaluate that enterprise. More interestingly, perhaps, it will suggest that perhaps the process ought to be reversed. Economics as it is now practiced would do well to learn from strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard N. Langlois, 2003. "Strategy as economics versus economics as strategy," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 283-290.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:24:y:2003:i:4:p:283-290
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/mde.1121
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.1121?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    2. Sidney G. Winter, 1964. "Economic "Natural Selection" and the Theory of the Firm," LEM Chapters Series, in: Yale Economic Essays, pages 225-272, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    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. Richard P. Rumelt & Dan Schendel & David J. Teece, 1991. "Strategic management and economics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(S2), pages 5-29, December.
    5. Brian J. Loasby, 1989. "The Mind and Method of the Economist," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 288.
    6. Landes, David S., 1986. "What Do Bosses Really Do?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 585-623, September.
    7. Langlois, Richard N & Foss, Nicolai J, 1999. "Capabilities and Governance: The Rebirth of Production in the Theory of Economic Organization," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 201-218.
    8. Jean Tirole, 1988. "The Theory of Industrial Organization," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262200716, December.
    9. Richardson, G B, 1972. "The Organisation of Industry," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 82(327), pages 883-896, September.
    10. Paul J. McNulty, 1968. "Economic Theory and the Meaning of Competition," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(4), pages 639-656.
    11. Nicolai J. Foss, 1996. "Research In Strategy, Economics, and Michael Porter," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Kathleen R. Conner & C. K. Prahalad, 1996. "A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 477-501, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adebayo Mohammed, OJUOLAPE, & Abdulazeez, AJIBOLA, & Busrat Abidemi, AGBAJE, & Hammed Agboola, YUSUF,, 2017. "Economic Evaluation Of Nigeria'S Quest For New Petroleum Refineries," Ilorin Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, vol. 19(1), pages 248-266, October.
    2. André Ribeiro Gonçalves & Rogério H Quintella, 2006. "The role of internal and external factors in the performance of brazilian companies and its evolution between 1990 and 2003," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 10(spe), pages 117-136.
    3. Alain Desreumaux, 2008. "Refaire de la stratégie?," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 11(Special), pages 67-107, June.
    4. Reyes Calderón, 2004. "Fron Neo-classical Entrepreneur to Socio-economic Organization," Faculty Working Papers 01/04, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra.

    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. Soufiane Mezzourh & Walid A Nakara, 2009. "Governance and innovation : A Knowledge-based approach [La gouvernance de l'innovation : une approche par la connaissance]," Post-Print halshs-01955966, HAL.
    2. Nicholas S. Argyres & Teppo Felin & Nicolai Foss & Todd Zenger, 2012. "Organizational Economics of Capability and Heterogeneity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1213-1226, 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. Margit Osterloh & Bruno S. Frey, 2000. "Motivation, Knowledge Transfer, and Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 538-550, October.
    5. Teppo Felin & Nicolai J. Foss, 2004. "Organizational Routines A Sceptical Look," DRUID Working Papers 04-13, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    6. Foss, Nicolai J., 2003. "Bounded rationality in the economics of organization: "Much cited and little used"," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 245-264, April.
    7. Joerg Freiling, 2004. "A Competence-based Theory of the Firm," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 15(1), pages 27-52.
    8. Margit Osterloh & Jetta Frost & Bruno Frey, 2002. "The Dynamics of Motivation in New Organizational Forms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 61-77.
    9. Gibbons, Robert, 2005. "Four forma(lizable) theories of the firm?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 200-245, October.
    10. 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.
    11. Wolfgang Kerber & Simonetta Vezzoso, 2004. "EU Competition Policy, Vertical Restraints, and Innovation: An Analysis from an Evolutionary Perspective," Marburg Working Papers on Economics 200414, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    12. Zhai, Endong & Shi, Yongjiang & Gregory, Mike, 2007. "The growth and capability development of electronics manufacturing service (EMS) companies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 1-19, May.
    13. Alex Eapen & Rekha Krishnan, 2019. "Transferring Tacit Know-How: Do Opportunism Safeguards Matter for Firm Boundary Decisions?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 715-734, July.
    14. Argandoña, Antonio, 2010. "From action theory to the theory of the firm," IESE Research Papers D/855, IESE Business School.
    15. Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2012. "Innovative Platforms, Complexity and the Knowledge Intensive Firm," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 26, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Lihong Qian & Rajshree Agarwal & Glenn Hoetker, 2012. "Configuration of Value Chain Activities: The Effect of Pre-Entry Capabilities, Transaction Hazards, and Industry Evolution on Decisions to Internalize," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1330-1349, October.
    17. Nicolai J. Foss, 1997. "Incomplete Contracts and Economic Organization Brian Loasby and the Theory of the Firm," DRUID Working Papers 97-11, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    18. Sylvia Maxfield, 2008. "Reconciling Corporate Citizenship and Competitive Strategy: Insights from Economic Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(2), pages 367-377, June.
    19. Minkler, Lanse, 2004. "Shirking and motivations in firms: survey evidence on worker attitudes," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 863-884, June.
    20. Kirsten Burkhardt, 2011. "Le rôle des sociétés de capital-risque dans la formation d’alliances stratégiques:Une synthèse de littérature - The Role of Venture Capitalists in the Formation of Strategic Alliances:An academic lite," Working Papers CREGO 1111102, Université de Bourgogne - CREGO EA7317 Centre de recherches en gestion des organisations.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:24:y:2003:i:4:p:283-290. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.