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Thorstein B. Veblen Precursor of the Competence-Based Approach to the Firm

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  • Nicolai J. Foss

Abstract

This paper makes the point that Thorstein Veblen should be considered one of the important precursors of the emerging competence-based approach to the firm. Thus, the emphasis in this literature on firms as path-dependent entities characterised by their heterogeneous knowledgebases, operating under conditions of genuine uncertainty, and existing because they provide moral and cognitive communities that foster the development of productive competencies, can all be traced to key themes in Veblen’s work.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolai J. Foss, 1996. "Thorstein B. Veblen Precursor of the Competence-Based Approach to the Firm," DRUID Working Papers 96-15, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:aal:abbswp:96-15
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 1998. "Evolutionary and competence-based theories of the firm," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(1), pages 25-56, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Nicolai J. Foss, 1996. "Firms, Incomplete Contracts and Organizational Learning," DRUID Working Papers 96-2, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    4. Lane, David & Malerba, Franco & Maxfield, Robert & Orsenigo, Luigi, 1996. "Choice and Action," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 43-76, February.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Holmstrom, Bengt R. & Tirole, Jean, 1989. "The theory of the firm," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 61-133, Elsevier.
    8. Nicolai J. Foss, 1997. "The classical theory of production and the capabilities view of the firm," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(5), pages 307-323, October.
    9. Dosi, Giovanni, 1995. "Hierarchies, Markets and Power: Some Foundational Issues on the Nature of Contemporary Economic Organizations," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 4(1), pages 1-19.
    10. Argyrous, George & Sethi, Rajiv, 1996. "The Theory of Evolution and the Evolution of Theory: Veblen's Methodology in Contemporary Perspective," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 475-495, July.
    11. Hodgson, Geoffrey M, 1992. "Thorstein Veblen and Post-Darwinian Economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 285-301, September.
    12. Alfred D. Chandler, 1992. "Organizational Capabilities and the Economic History of the Industrial Enterprise," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 79-100, Summer.
    13. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bengt-Åke Lundvall & Frank Skov Kristensen, 1997. "Organisational Change, Innovation and Human Resource Development as a Response to Increased Competition," DRUID Working Papers 97-16, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    2. Dieter Ernst, 1999. "Responses to the Crisis Constraints to a Rapid Trade Adjustment in East Asia´s Electronics Industry," DRUID Working Papers 99-2, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    3. Kirsten Foss & Nicolai J. Foss, 1999. "Organizing Economic Experiments The Role of Firms," DRUID Working Papers 99-5, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    4. Jukka Kaisla, 1998. "The Market Process and the Emergence of the Firm Some Indications of Entrepreneurship Under Genuine uncertainty," DRUID Working Papers 98-17, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    5. Keld Laursen, 1998. "Do Export and Technological Specialisation Patterns Co-evolve in Terms of Convergence or Divergence? Evidence From 19 OECD Countries, 1971-1991," DRUID Working Papers 98-18, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    6. Jane Bryan & Calvin Jones & Max Munday, 2005. "Investigating the Potential of Key Sectors Using Multisectoral Qualitative Analysis: A Welsh Case Study," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 23(5), pages 633-656, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Path dependency; competence; uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B15 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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