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Chester Barnard’s theory of the firm: An institutionalist view

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  • Valentinov, Vladislav
  • Roth, Steffen

Abstract

Chester Barnard’s work can be shown to contain subversive elements which accord with the spirit of institutionalist scholarship. Barnard saw corporations as systems of power whose sustainability must be backed by moral resources which are becoming increasingly scarce today. This vision suggests that the core role of corporations may be found to be in mobilizing power and morality needed to maintain social cooperation. Even though Barnard failed to develop an adequate critique of corporate power and business enterprise, he advanced a set of innovative concepts which illuminate the contribution of corporations toward the coordination of the social provisioning process.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentinov, Vladislav & Roth, Steffen, 2022. "Chester Barnard’s theory of the firm: An institutionalist view," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 707-720.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:264991
    DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2022.2079932
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    Cited by:

    1. Valentinov, Vladislav, 2023. "Stakeholder theory: Toward a classical institutional economics perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 188(1), pages 75-88.
    2. Vladislav Valentinov, 2023. "Stakeholder Theory: Toward a Classical Institutional Economics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 75-88, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Chester Barnard; morality; power; sustainability; theory of the firm;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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