TheTheoryoftheFirm,theTheoryofCompetitionandtheTransnationalCorporation公司理论.TheTheoryoftheFirm,theTheoryofCompetitionandtheTransnationalCorporationUniversityofMassachusettsatBoston,DepartmentofEconomics,100Morrisse
TheTheoryoftheFirm,theTheoryofCompetitionandtheTransnationalCorporation公司理论.
TheTheoryoftheFirm,theTheoryof
CompetitionandtheTransnational
Corporation
UniversityofMassachusettsatBoston,DepartmentofEconomics,100Morrissey
Boulevard,Boston,MA02125–3393,USA
Coase’s1937paperon‘TheNatureoftheFirm’formedthebasisofthetransaction-costand
internalizationtheoriesoftransnationalenterprisesinthe1970sthrough1990s.These
emphasizedtheproblemoffirmstransferringintangibleassetsacrossnationalborders.
Newertheoriesofthefirmadoptresource-basedPenrosian,knowledge-based,capabilities
andevolutionaryperspectives,yetmostcontinuetoexplaintheinternationalfirmasafunction
oftransaction-costeconomizing.ItisarguedthatCoase’sintentionwastopresenta
theoryofthefirmabstractedfromitscompetitiveenvironment.Theapplicationofthis
approachtoatheoryofthetransnationalcorporation(TNC)isflawedbecauseitcannot
explaintheTNCwithoutreferencetocompetitiveconditions.Thisleavesuswithincomplete
theoriesofmultinationalfirms,becausetheyaddresstransaction-costproblemsandsolutions
totheexclusionofmanyothercompetitiveconsiderationsthatmustinfluencethe
transnationalstepinthefirm’sevolution.Thenewerknowledge-basedtheoriesofthefirm
representprogressbecausetheyfocusontheinstitutionaldetailsofdynamicfirminvestment
intheintangibleorknowledge-basedcompetitiveassetsbywhichfirmstransformtheir
environments.Mostrecently,theoryhasbeguntoemphasizetheadvantagesandnotjustthe
costsofinternationalization.Additionally,thenecessitytoaddressthejuxtapositionof
internalizationandexternalizationbyglobalfirmsprovidesacontextforcreatingadynamic
explanationofboth.Thekeyistorecognizetheprocessofstandardizationasapartof
theprocessofinnovationattheheartoflearning-basedtheories.Thiscanhelptoexplain
thehierarchicaldivisionoflabo
