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The Firm as a Socialization Device

Author

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  • Abhijit Ramalingam

    (School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom)

  • Michael T. Rauh

    (Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405)

Abstract

Why do firms exist? What is their function? What do managers do? What is the role, if any, of social motivation in the market? In this paper, we address these questions with a new theory of the firm, which unites some major themes in management, principal-agent theory, and economic sociology. We show that although the market is a superior incentive mechanism, the firm has a comparative advantage with respect to social motivation. We then show that the market is efficient in environments that favor the provision of incentives, such as when subjective risk is low and performance is easy to measure. The firm is efficient in other environments where incentives are costly and/or ineffective. We compare our model and results with the views of Durkheim (Durkheim, E. 1984. The Division of Labor in Society. Free Press, New York) and Granovetter (Granovetter, M. 1985. Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. Amer. J. Sociol. 91(3) 481-510).

Suggested Citation

  • Abhijit Ramalingam & Michael T. Rauh, 2010. "The Firm as a Socialization Device," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(12), pages 2191-2206, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:12:p:2191-2206
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1100.1239
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2016. "Bonus Culture: Competitive Pay, Screening, and Multitasking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(2), pages 305-370.
    4. Hernán Bejarano & Brice Corgnet & Joaquín Gómez-Miñambres, 2019. "Labor Contracts, Gift-Exchange and Reference Wages: Your Gift Need Not Be Mine!," Working Papers halshs-02368016, HAL.
    5. Brice Corgnet & Brian Gunia & Roberto Hernán González, 2021. "Harnessing the power of social incentives to curb shirking in teams," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 139-167, February.
    6. Gary B. Gorton & Alexander K. Zentefis, 2024. "Corporate culture as a theory of the firm," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(364), pages 1391-1423, October.
    7. Bejarano, Hernán & Corgnet, Brice & Gómez-Miñambres, Joaquín, 2021. "Economic stability promotes gift-exchange in the workplace," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 374-398.
    8. Lacetera, Nicola & Zirulia, Lorenzo, 2012. "Individual preferences, organization, and competition in a model of R&D incentive provision," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 550-570.
    9. Ramalingam, Abhijit, 2014. "On the value of relative comparisons in firms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 446-448.
    10. Hiller, Victor & Verdier, Thierry, 2014. "Corporate culture and identity investment in an industry equilibrium," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 93-112.
    11. Claudio Panico, 2017. "Strategic interaction in alliances," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(8), pages 1646-1667, August.

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