In this book we open our insights in the Theory of the Firm, obtained through the application of Optimal Control Theory, to a public of scholars and advanced students in economics and applied mathematics. We walk on the micro economic side of the street that is bordered by Theory of the Firm on one side and by Optimal Control Theory on the other, keeping the reader away from all the dead end roads we turned down during our 10 years lasting research. We focus attention on the expressiveness and variety of insights that are obtained through studying only simple models of the firm. In this book mathematics is our tool, insight in optimal corporate policy our goal. Therefore most of the mathematics and calculations is put into appendices and in the main text all attention is on modelling corporate behaviour and on analysing the results of the calculations. So, the main text focusses on micro economics, even more specific: on Theory of the Firm. In that way this book is contrasted from such famous text books in applied Optimal Control with a much broader portfolio of applications, like Feichtinger & Hartl (1986) or with a more rigorous introduction into theory, like Seierstad & Sydsaeter (1987).

In interaction with their environment, firms change constantly; in trying to reduce uncertainties, they influence both their markets and the wider socio-political environment. Dynamics of the Firm addresses theoretical, empirical and policy issues concerned with the changing structure of firms. This book seeks to develop a theory of the dynamics of the firm which contrasts with the neoclassical view of the firm as a static production function in a world of given technology and institutions. Papers discussing new institutional theories of the firm in relation to sociological approaches, in which power and trust play an important role, are followed by contributions which focus on empirical issues such as pricing strategies, industrial groups and networking. The public policy implications are discussed extensively. Offering an original analysis of the organizational structures of firms operating in changing environments, this volume of essays by a distinguished group of economists will be welcomed by students, teachers and researchers in the areas of industrial organization and organizational economics.

This book contributes to the scientific field of optimal control theory applied to dynamic models of the firm. It discusses optimal investment, financing and production policies of the firm, that have to deal with a variety of aspects, such as financial constraints, start-up costs, business cycles, increasing returns to scale, production life cycles and experience curves. In contrast to many other publications on this subject, here, in combination with an analytical approach, the dynamic optimization problems are solved numerically with the aid of a powerful computer and specific programs for optimizing non-linear functions of a finite number of variables and non-linear constraints.

This volume is the final result of the research project ''Micro growth model", that was sponsored by the Central Research Pool of Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Apart from the University Council for this important financial support, I owe Prof. Dr. Fiet Verheyen very much for the way in which he introduced me into scientific circles and for the way in which he supervised and stimulated my work. Dr. Jan de Jong and Peter Janssen C. E. , Technical University of Eindhoven, piloted me safely through the mathe matics of optimal control theory and removed some technical barriers. Their help was indispensable for the success of this project. I would also like to mention the kind support of Prof. Dr. Jack Kleijnen, who gave me many valuable hints on how to present the results of this project. In this way I was able to contact with several resear chers inside and outside the Netherlands. Most grateful I am to Prof. Dr. Charles Tapiero, Jerusalem University, who commented on important parts of this book in a constructive way and who suggested many subjects for further research. Also Mr. Geert Jan vsn Schijndel, Tilburg University, should be mentioned here, because he closely read the work and I appreciated his remarks and corrections very much. Many collea gues have contributed to the results of this research project in a direct or indirect way. Especially I should like to mention my contacts with Prof. Dr.

Globalization has made both operations and supply chains more complex than ever before. Inputs are sourced from many locations all over the world to serve different needs and market segments throughout the planet, making it a global challenge that necessitates a global strategic response. Managing Operations Throughout Global Supply Chains is a crucial academic resource that discusses concepts, methodologies, and applications of emerging techniques for operations and supply chain management processes that promote cost efficiency. While highlighting topics such as global operations, resource planning, and business forecasting, this publication explores how organizations manage the procurement of all necessary resources at every stage of the production cycle from the original source to the final consumers. This book is ideally designed for researchers, academicians, practitioners, professional organizations, policymakers, and government officials.

1.1. Scope of the Book This book is a contribution to the area of "dynamic models of the firm". The motivation for this kind of research is the following: Empirical studies (e.g. Albach (1976)) have shown that the development of the firm over time can be divided into different stages. such as growth. stationarity and contraction. In order to understand and evaluate these stages in a proper way. it is important to develop a suitable theoretical framework. To that end. economists have applied dynamic mathematical techniques. such as optimal control theory. calculus of variations and dynamic programming to design and analyse dynamic models of the firm. In this way. the economic theory of the firm is extended to a dynamic context. Within the field of the dynamics of the firm this book - develops a general investment decision rule. based on the concept "net present value of marginal investment". which is applicable in deterministic dynamic models of the firm; - studies the influence of adjustment costs of investment on optimal dynamic firm behavior; - extends the stochastic dynamic theory of the firm by connecting it with a dynamic version of the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Before elaborating on "the dynamics of the firm". we first review the subject of net present value in the classical analysis.

This publication focuses on business dynamics across eight countries (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom) and over time, building upon the evidence collected in the framework of the OECD DynEmp project for 22 countries. It provides new evidence on firms' heterogeneous responses to shocks (notably the recent financial crisis) in order to evaluate how policies and framework conditions across different firms and countries can foster both employment and productivity growth.