Extant explanations of the nature and scope of firms, such as transaction costs, property rights, metering and “resources” can be integrated into a more general (capability based) theory of the nature and essence of the firm that recognizes the importance to the firm of creating (and...

This paper explores the relative effects of Multinational Enterprises’ (MNEs) subsidiaries to domestic firms (DOMS) on regional productivity growth in the UK. We combine regional and firm level data to explore the relative importance of three key characteristics of Multinational Enterprises’...

The paper explores the effects of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and Domestic Enterprises (DOMEs), respectively, on regional productivity in the case of UK regions. Our empirical evidence shows that the more intensive in terms of R&D and intangibles MNEs, have a stronger effect on regional...

This is an earlier draft for the introduction to the book "The theory of the growth of the firm" published by Oxford Press, 4th edition, 2009.

We discuss issues pertaining to the political economy of “globalization”, in the context of the seminal contribution by Stephen Hymer. While Hymer’s contribution to the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely recognized, his contribution...

Despite recent emphasis on intra-organizational issues, scholarship on organizations, management and strategy remains unduly reliant on economic models, such as the industrial organization (IO) market structure-based analysis. The focus of such models is on price-output determination by firms...

In this paper, we explore the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the competitiveness of emerging economies and economic integration. We structure the paper as follows. Following this Introduction (Section I), in Section II, we assess briefly and critically extant theories of FDI and the...

Cyert and March’s 1963 seminal book is one of the two major economics-based theories of the firm that goes inside the ‘black box’ (the firm) – the other being the contribution of Edith Penrose. The two theories have differences, but also similarities, and substantial scope for...

We analyse the hitherto unexplored relationship between intra-firm conflict between the research and development (R&D) department and central management, conflict alleviation and the choice of ‘open’ versus ‘closed’ innovation, in the context of a simple formal model. We find that in the...

This paper discusses alternative political economic perspectives on competition (antitrust) and industrial policies (IP), in theory and in practice, while critically assessing recent European IP in this context. It develops a new framework for IP, which emphasises the sustainability of value and...