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Information Strategies and the Theory of the Firm

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  • Mark Casson
  • Nigel Wadeson

Abstract

Information costs play a key role in determining the relative efficiency of alternative organisational structures. The choice of locations at which information is stored in a firm is an important determinant of its information costs. A specific example of information use is modelled in order to explore what factors determine whether information should be stored centrally or locally and if it should be replicated at different sites. This provides insights into why firms are structured hierarchically, with some decisions and tasks being performed centrally and others at different levels of decentralisation. The effects of new information technologies are also discussed. These can radically alter the patterns and levels of information costs within a firm and so can cause substantial changes in organisational structure

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Casson & Nigel Wadeson, 1996. "Information Strategies and the Theory of the Firm," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 307-330.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ijecbs:v:3:y:1996:i:3:p:307-330
    DOI: 10.1080/758539569
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patrick Bolton & Mathias Dewatripont, 1994. "The Firm as a Communication Network," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 809-839.
    2. Mark Casson, 1994. "Why are Firms Hierarchical?," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 47-76.
    3. M. Lynne Markus & Daniel Robey, 1988. "Information Technology and Organizational Change: Causal Structure in Theory and Research," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 583-598, May.
    4. Erik Brynjolfsson & Thomas W. Malone & Vijay Gurbaxani & Ajit Kambil, 1994. "Does Information Technology Lead to Smaller Firms?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(12), pages 1628-1644, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mark Casson & Nigel Wadeson, 2012. "Internationalisation Theory," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Mark Casson & Nigel Wadeson, 1998. "Communication Costs and the Boundaries of the Firm," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 5-27.
    3. Nigel Wadeson, 1999. "Two-way Communication Costs and the Boundaries of the Firm," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 301-329.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information; Firm; Organisation; Hierarchy; Decision; JEL classification: L20;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General

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