Title: An alternative framework for the technological and transaction firm models

Authors: Gus M. Geursen, George Rivers

Addresses: Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: Economics, management and business have for some time questioned our perceptions about what is a ||firm||. The need to comprehend this question is paramount to understanding the functioning not only of our firms but also of our economic systems, both at a micro and macro level. Neoclassical theorists have generally assumed that the distribution of resources in an economy is dependent directly upon the price and markets. Notwithstanding this, the questions remain why do firms or organisations exist, and what is the nature of their mechanisms? A significant limitation in economic discussion is that it considers the firm as consisting of a horizontal set of inputs and outputs but fails to recognise that there are vertical divisions of these sets among which trade-offs occur. Contextual discussion of these vertical divisions is the focus of this paper. A new framework is developed to enable the identification and analysis of those particular aspects that make the firm function.

Keywords: firms; theories of the firm; horizontal model of the firm; vertical model of the firm; Three Domain Model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2001.000464

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2001 Vol.1 No.3/4, pp.400-413

Published online: 16 Jul 2003 *

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