Archive for April, 2006
orgtheory.net
| Peter Klein |
Our initial post below noted the dearth of good management blogs. A happy exception is orgtheory.net, written by Brayden King and Teppo Felin, both of Brigham Young University. (King teaches sociology, while Felin teaches organizational leadership and strategy at the Marriott School.) Their masthead promises coverage of "all things organizational," and they deliver so far, writing on organization theory, strategy, human resource management, scientific method, and more. We look forward to learning from them as we populate the blogosphere together.
Is Economics Losing Its Spine?
| Nicolai Foss |
The critique of economics from sociologists, so-called “heterodox” economists, management scholars, etc. used to be that it was too “rigid,” because of a too heavy commitment to fundamental principles, such as strong interpretations of individual rationality (maximization), equilibrium, and so on. As a result, the critics maintained, the central insights of disciplines such as sociology, psychology and anthropology were not only at variance with economics but also much more realistic, applicable, etc. Attempts to apply maximization, stable preferences and equilibrium to neighbouring disciplines only led to disciplinary bastardization in which the essential ideas of these neighbouring disciplines got lost. And so on.
While this kind of critique continues to be made, of course, I believe that the basis for making it is becoming increasingly weak. (more…)
Professors Are From Mars, Students From Venus
| Peter Klein |
My department recently hosted a workshop at which faculty and undergraduate students could exchange suggestions for improving the classroom experience. Many of the students' requests were reasonable ("start and end class on time"; "give regular feedback on student performance"; "don't assign readings that won't be used"), some weren't ("realize that we get bored easily and need to be entertained"). Faculty requested things like "come to class prepared"; "take advantage of office hours"; and "put care into your writing and speaking."
My favorite faculty comment, however, was this: "Please don't send me email saying, 'I won't be in class Tuesday; will I miss anything?'"
Journal of Institutional Economics
| Peter Klein |
Geoff Hogdson's Journal of Institutional Economics has released its second issue (April 2006). Articles that look particularly interesting include "The turn in economics: neoclassical dominance to mainstream pluralism?" by John B. Davis and "The rhetoric of Oliver Williamson's transaction cost economics" by Huascar F. Pessali. The issue also includes a 1929 essay by Werner Sombart. (I realize publication lags in economics are getting longer and longer, but this is ridiculous!)
A Lachmanian Approach to Entrepreneurship
| Peter Klein |
My colleagues Todd Chiles, Allen Bluedorn, and Vishal Gupta have posted an updated version of their forthcoming Organization Studies paper, "Beyond Creative Destruction and Entrepreneurial Discovery: A Radical Austrian Approach to Entrepreneurship." The paper introduces entrepreneurship scholars to the idiosyncratic Austrian economist Ludwig Lachmann, presenting Lachmann's approach as an alternative to those of Schumpeter and Kirzner.
Getting Old?
| Nicolai Foss |
I got back a review report today. Among many thoughtful observations, the report noted about the paper: “It lacks the fresh originality of the early Foss papers.”
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Organizations and Markets is now up and running. Welcome to all readers. (Hopefully the plural is appropriate.)
We started this blog for two reasons. First, while there are many excellent blogs on economics, law, and public policy, there are relatively few on organization, strategy, and management, our main areas of research. Organizations and Markets hopes to help fill this gap. Second, we think we have a unique and interesting perspective on many of these issues, and we thought it would be fun to share this perspective with the world. (If the latter reason sounds immodest, well, what did you expect from a public blog?)
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