Thorstein B. Veblen Precursor of the Competence-Based Approach to the Firm

This paper makes the point that Thorstein Veblen should be considered one of the important precursors of the emerging competence-based approach to the firm. Thus, the emphasis in this literature on firms as path-dependent entities characterised by their heterogeneous knowledgebases, operating under conditions of genuine uncertainty, and existing because they provide moral and cognitive communities that foster the development of productive competencies, can all be traced to key themes in Veblen’s work.