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The Austrian theory of the firm: Retrospect and prospect

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  • Richard N. Langlois

    (The University of Connecticut)

Abstract

Using as a focusing device the famous arguments of Coase (Economica 4(16), 386–405 1937) and Hayek (The American Economic Review 35(4): 519–530 1945), I sketch in bold strokes what an Austrian theory of the firm would look like. Such a theory would pay serious attention to issues of knowledge, uncertainty, change, and complementarity. I describe a literature in which much of this theory has already been constructed; make connections to closely related literatures in economics and management; and suggest directions for future development.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard N. Langlois, 2013. "The Austrian theory of the firm: Retrospect and prospect," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 247-258, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:26:y:2013:i:3:d:10.1007_s11138-012-0171-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-012-0171-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. William Hongsong Wang & Vicente Moreno-Casas & Jesús Huerta de Soto, 2021. "A Free-Market Environmentalist Transition toward Renewable Energy: The Cases of Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Shastitko, Andrey & Golovanova, Svetlana, 2016. "Meeting blindly… Is Austrian economics useful for dynamic capabilities theory?," Russian Journal of Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 86-110.
    5. Andrey Shastitko & Claude Ménard, 2017. "Discrete institutional alternatives: Theoretical and policy issues (Celebrating the 80 th anniversary of Ronald Coase's “Nature of the Firm”)," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-04011898, HAL.
    6. Vipin P. Veetil, 2022. "Distributed knowledge and the organization of economic activity," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 95-111, June.
    7. Ennio E. Piano & Louis Rouanet, 2020. "Economic calculation and the organization of markets," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 331-348, September.

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