Firms, Markets and Economic Change - 9780415121194

Taylor & Francis

The authors argue that innovation is a complex process that defies neat categorization and government policy should be to facilitate change rather than to direct it. > \nTraditonal western forms of corporate organization have been called into question by the success of Japanese keiretsu. Firms, Markets and Economic Change draws on industrial economics, business strategy, and economic history to develop an evolutionary model to show when innovation is best undertaken. The authors argue that innovation is a complex process that defies neat categorization and government policy should be to facilitate change rather than to direct it. > 1 INTRODUCTION 2 CAPABILITIES, STRATEGY AND THE FIRM 3 A DYNAMIC THEORY OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE FIRM 4 VERTICAL INTEGRATION IN THE EARLY AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY 5 EXTERNAL CAPABILITIES AND MODULAR SYSTEMS 6 INERTIA AND INDUSTRIAL CHANGE 7 INNOVATION, NETWORKS AND VERTICAL INTEGRATION 8 CONCLUSION > Richard N. Langlois is Professor of Economi.