A Neo-Weberian Theory of the Firm

Bibliographic Data

ID11624821
AuthorsPursey Heugens (0000-0002-9594-3575, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands,, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume26
Issue4
Pages547-567
Publication date2005-03-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOrganization Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0170-8406 • E-ISSN: 1741-3044
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0170840605051471
OpenAlexW2135493511
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited80

The field of organization studies harbors two types of theory of the firm: ‘why’ and ‘how’ theories. The former seeks to explain why firms exist despite the availability of institutional alternatives, whereas the latter explores how firms meaningfully connect the actions of many interdependently operating individuals to collective outcomes. Since the two approaches are complements rather than substitutes, the field would benefit from the development of a parsimonious theory that integrates ‘why’ and ‘how’ perspectives. It is argued that Max Weber’s writings on bureaucracy, and especially his focus on the organization as a collective actor governed by rational-legal decision rules, provide a meaningful conceptual background structure for such a theory. Specifically, through a rational reconstruction of certain elements of the Weberian legacy, a neo-Weberian theory of the firm is constructed here that simultaneously provides reasons for the existence of the firm and explores the nature of cooperation within the firm itself

Bureaucracy · Economics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Focus (optics · Institutional theory · Management · Neoclassical economics · Organizational theory · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Social science · Sociology · Theory of the firm · Accounting and Organizational Management · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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