. . . some excellent applications of contemporary scholarship to the major public sector innovation issues of the day. And, if you are more interested in cognitive psychology or evolutionary theory than public sector innovation, this book stands out as an excellent application of constructivist, cognitive evolutionary theory to a field in which you may previously have had little interest. Either way, the journey will have been worthwhile for anyone wishing to take it. Howard A. Doughty, The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal A thought provoking, original and personal contribution to the emerging field of cognitive economics, integrating insights from a variety of innovative research streams in neighboring social sciences including neural science, social cognition, strategy and organization, and social network analysis. Anna Grandori, Bocconi University, Italy Among scholars writing about business firms, Bart Nooteboom stands out both in his ability to bring relevant perspectives from diverse disciplines together to illuminate phenomena, and in his solid understanding of how firms actually work. For many years he has had a central interest in how firms cope with challenges, problem solving mechanisms in firms, and innovation. These qualities make this an important book. Nooteboom also writes very well, and the book is a pleasure to read. Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University, US In this important and timely book, Bart Nooteboom develops and applies a social cognitive theory of firms and organizations with a focus on learning and innovation. Why explore a cognitive theory of the firm? This enlightening study explains that a cognitive theory of the firm is required in order to lend more substance and analysis to current vague and unconnected ad hoc notions in the literature, such as entrepreneurial vision, absorptive capacity, and variety and dispersion of knowledge. The author explores the notion of differential cognition, drawing together the work of Hayek, Schumpeter and Penrose to shed light on the sources of innovation. This interdisciplinary book connects ideas from specific branches of economics, management and organization, cognitive science, social psychology and sociology and will be invaluable to students and scholars interested in a new perspective on the firm.

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In this study, Don Ross explores the relationship of economics to other branches of behavioral science, asking, in the course of his analysis, under what interpretation economics is a sound empirical science. The book explores the relationships between economic theory and the theoretical foundations of related disciplines that are relevant to the day-to-day work of economics—the cognitive and behavioral sciences. It asks whether the increasingly sophisticated techniques of microeconomic analysis have revealed any deep empirical regularities—whether technical improvement represents improvement in any other sense. Casting Daniel Dennett and Kenneth Binmore as its intellectual heroes, the book proposes a comprehensive model of economic theory that, Ross argues, does not supplant, but recovers the core neoclassical insights, and counters the caricaturish conception of neoclassicism so derided by advocates of behavioral or evolutionary economics. Because he approaches his topic from the viewpoint of the philosophy of science, Ross devotes one chapter to the philosophical theory and terminology on which his argument depends and another to related philosophical issues. Two chapters provide the theoretical background in economics, one covering developments in neoclassical microeconomics and the other treating behavioral and experimental economics and evolutionary game theory. The three chapters at the heart of the argument then apply theses from the philosophy of cognitive science to foundational problems for economic theory. In these chapters, economists will find a genuinely new way of thinking about the implications of cognitive science for economics, and cognitive scientists will find in economic behavior, a new testing site for the explanations of cognitive science.

This unique Handbook explores both the economics of the firm and the theory of the firm, two areas which are traditionally treated separately in the literature. On the one hand, the former refers to the structure, organization and boundaries of the firm, while the latter is devoted to the analysis of behaviours and strategies in particular market contexts. the novel concept underpinning this authoritative volume is that these two areas closely interact, and that a framework must be articulated in order to illustrate how linkages can be created. This interpretative framework is comprehensively developed in the editors' introduction, and the expert contributors – more than fifty academics of renowned authority – further elaborate on the linkages in the seven comprehensive sections that follow, encompassing: background; equilibrium and new institutional theories; the multinational firm; dynamic approaches to the firm; modern issues; firms' strategies; and economic policy and the firm. Bridging economics and theory of the firm, and providing both technical and institutional perspectives on real corporations, this path-breaking Handbook will prove an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and students in the fields of economics, heterodox economics, business and management, and industrial organization.

The theoretical foundations of management strategy are identified and outlined in this text. Five theories are considered in the light of questions about how organisations operate efficiently, cost minimization, wealth creation, individual self-interest, and continued growth.

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Juliane Hartig develops a framework of different forms of distance and discusses their impact and interplay for interactive learning and innovation. Her empirical study draws on a sample of international cooperation projects from German biotechnology SMEs. Combining quantitative and qualitative research, she comes to new insights, and offers practitioners tools on how to create proximity in order to derive the most from global cooperation.