On the Relations Between Evolutionary and Contractual Theories of the Firm.

It has recently been argued by a number of writers that the evolutionary theory of the firm is a genuine theoretical rival to the contractual theory of the firm. This paper presents a reconstruction of the evolutionary theory of the firm. A taxonomy developed by the Polish philosopher Krajewski is then utilized for the purpose of the discussing the relations between the evolutionary and the contractual theory of the firm. It is possible to argue that the evolutionary and the contractual theories of the firm are rivals. However, it is also possible to argue that they have complementary areas of research, some of which are briefly described in the paper.