Firm Theory
An annotated collection of 3 books & papers on firm theory, spanning 1937 to 1985. Featuring works by Ronald Coase, Edith Penrose, Oliver Williamson — each with editorial commentary oriented to digital product practice.
The Nature of the Firm
The founding question: if the market is so efficient, why do firms exist? Coase answers that organising activities in the open market has costs — searching for suppliers, negotiating contracts, monitoring quality. Firms…
The Theory of the Growth of the Firm
Penrose fills the gap between Coase and Chandler. Coase explained why firms exist; Chandler documented how they grew; Penrose explains the mechanism — firms grow by deploying accumulated knowledge and unused resources in…
The Economic Institutions of Capitalism
Williamson takes Coase's intuition and turns it into a complete theory. Contracts are incomplete, people act with opportunism, and some assets are specific enough that you cannot acquire them on the open market without r…