2007/01 | LEM Working Paper Series | |
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On the Convergence of Evolutionary and Behavioral Theories of Organizations: A Tentative Roadmap |
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Giovanni Dosi, Luigi Marengo |
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Abstract | ||
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The behavioral theory of the firm has been acknowledged as one of the most fundamental pillars on
which evolutionary theorizing in economics has been built. Nelson and Winter’s 1982 book is
pervaded by the philosophy and concepts previously developed by Cyert, March and Simon.
On the other hand, some behavioral notions, such as bounded rationality, though isolated from the
context, are also at the heart of some economic theories of institutions such as transaction costs
economics.
In this paper, after briefly reviewing the basic concepts of evolutionary economics, we discuss its
implications for the theory of organizations (and business firms in particular), and we suggest that
evolutionary theory should coherently embrace an “embeddedness” view of organizations, whereby
the latter are not simply efficient solutions to informational problems arising from contract
incompleteness and uncertainty, but also shape the “visions of the world”, interaction networks,
behavioral patterns and, ultimately, the very identity of the agents. After outlining the basic features
of this perspective we analyze its consequences and empirical relevance.
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