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An artificialist theory of the firm: contours and perspectives

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  • Joelle Forest

    (EVS - Environnement, Ville, Société - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Mines Saint-Étienne MSE - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - INSA Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon - Université de Lyon - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - ENSAL - École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

There is nothing new in applying the concept of artificiality to organizations; however, few researchers have followed Simon's suggestion, put forward in the early 1940s, that firms should be considered artifacts. The present article attempts to remedy this situation by outlining the contours of an artificialist theory of the firm. The design process is shown to be at the heart of the artificialist approach; therefore, the firm can no longer be represented purely in terms of choices between available alternatives. Highlighting the central role of design also leads theories of the firm to integrate the concept of creative rationality, alongside the idea of bounded rationality. As well as providing a positive vision of the firm, the artificialist approach discards the idea of natural evolution in favor of artificial evolution.

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  • Joelle Forest, 2009. "An artificialist theory of the firm: contours and perspectives," Working Papers halshs-01070615, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01070615
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01070615
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    References listed on IDEAS

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