This chapter explores the origins of the theme of competitive advantage in 19th and early 20th century economics. This theme, which forms the core of modern Strategic Management, was a battleground for debates about the value of abstract theory versus observations about real-life events....

The oldest surviving advice about management practices concerns leaders’ deceptions of followers. Tension-filled, distrustful relations between leaders and followers pervade the ancient texts. Drawing on the oldest surviving documents, this chapter reviews these common issues and people’s...

This chapter explores the origins of the theme of competitive advantage in 19th and early 20th century economics. This theme, which forms the core of modern Strategic Management, was a battleground for debates about the value of abstract theory versus observations about real-life events....