A naturalistic approach to the theory of the firm: The role of cooperation and cultural evolution

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

Volumn 68, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 125-139

  Cordes, Christian ^a   Richerson, Peter J ^a   McElreath, Richard ^a   Strimling, Pontus ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Cooperation; Cultural evolution; Entrepreneurship; Firm performance; Theory of the firm

Indexed keywords

EID: 50449088960     PISSN: 01672681     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2008.03.008     Document Type: Article

References (75)

1. Alchian A.A. Uncertainty, evolution, and economic theory. Journal of Political Economy 58 (1950) 211-222
2. Alchian A.A., and Demsetz H. Production, information costs, and economic organization. American Economic Review 62 (1972) 777-795
3. Anderson J.R. Cognitive Psychology and its Implications (2000), Worth, New York
4. Aronson E., Wilson T.D., and Akert R.M. Social Psychology (2002), Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
5. Baron J.N., and Hannan M.T. Organizational blueprints for success in high-tech start-ups. California Management Review 44 (2002) 8-36
6. Bergstrom T.C. Evolution of social behavior: individual and group selection. Journal of Economic Perspectives 16 2 (2002) 67-88
7. Boehm C. Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior (1999), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
8. Bolton G.E., and Ockenfels A. ERC: a theory of equity, reciprocity, and competition. American Economic Review 90 (2000) 166-193
9. Bowles S. Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (2004), Princeton University Press, Princeton
10. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Sociobiology, culture and economic theory. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 1 (1980) 97-121
11. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Cultural transmission and the evolution of cooperative behavior. Human Ecology 10 (1982) 325-351
12. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Culture and the Evolutionary Process (1985), University of Chicago Press, Chicago
13. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Social learning as an adaptation. Lectures on Mathematics in the Life Sciences 20 (1989) 1-20
14. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Rationality, imitation, and tradition. In: Day R.H., and Chen P. (Eds). Nonlinear Dynamics and Evolutionary Economics (1993), Oxford University Press, New York 131-149
15. Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Group beneficial norms can spread rapidly in a structured population. Journal of Theoretical Biology 215 (2002) 287-296
16. Coase R.H. The nature of the firm. Economica 4 (1937) 386-405
17. Coase R.H. The institutional structure of production. American Economic Review 82 (1992) 713-719
18. Cyert R.M., and March J.G. A Behavioral Theory of the Firm (1963), Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
19. Deal T.E., and Kennedy A.A. Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life (1982), Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
20. Demsetz H., and Villalonga B. Ownership structure and corporate performance. Journal of Corporate Finance 7 (2001) 209-233
21. Denison D.R. Bringing corporate culture to the bottom line. Organizational Dynamics 13 (1984) 4-22
22. Denison D.R. What is the difference between organizational culture and organizational climate? A native's point of view on a decade of paradigm wars. The Academy of Management Review 21 (1996) 619-654
23. Dowell G., Hart S., and Yeung B. Do corporate global environmental standards create or destroy market value?. Management Science 46 (2000) 1059-1074
24. Enzle M.E., and Anderson S.C. Surveillant intentions and intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 (1993) 257-266
25. Fehr E., and Gächter S. Cooperation and punishment in public goods experiments. American Economic Review 90 (2000) 980-994
26. Fehr E., and Schmidt K.M. A theory of fairness, competition, and cooperation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 114 (1999) 817-868
27. Foss N.J. The theory of the firm: An introduction to themes and contributions. In: Foss N.J. (Ed). The Theory of the Firm. Critical Perspectives on Business and Management (2000), Routledge, London pp. xv-lxi
28. Frey B.S., and Jegen R. Motivation crowding theory: a survey of empirical evidence. Journal of Economic Surveys 15 (2001) 589-611
29. Ghoshal S., and Moran P. Bad for practice: a critique of the transaction cost theory. Academy of Management Review 21 (1996) 13-47
30. In: Gintis H., Bowles S., Boyd R.T., and Fehr E. (Eds). Moral Sentiments and Material Interests: The Foundations of Cooperation in Economic Life (2005), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
31. Güth W., and van Damme E. Information, strategic behavior, and fairness in ultimatum bargaining: an experimental study. Journal of Mathematical Psychology 42 (1998) 227-247
32. Hansen G.S., and Wernerfelt B. Determinants of firm performance: the relative importance of economic and organizational factors. Strategic Management Journal 10 (1989) 399-411
33. Harrington Jr. J.E. Rigidity of social systems. Journal of Political Economy 107 (1999) 40-64
34. Henrich J. Cultural group selection, coevolutionary processes and large-scale cooperation. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 53 (2004) 3-35
35. Henrich J., and Boyd R. The evolution of conformist transmission and the emergence of between-group differences. Evolution and Human Behavior 19 (1998) 215-241
36. Henrich J., and Gil-White F.J. The evolution of prestige: freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior 22 (2001) 165-196
37. Hodgson G.M. Opportunism is not the only reason why firms exist: why an explanatory emphasis on opportunism may mislead management strategy. Industrial and Corporate Change 13 (2004) 401-418
38. Hodgson G.M., and Knudsen T. Firm-specific learning and the nature of the firm: why transaction costs may provide an incomplete explanation. Revue Economique 58 (2007) 331-350
39. Kameda T., and Diasuke N. Cost-benefit analysis of social/cultural learning in a nonstationary uncertain environment: an evolutionary simulation and an experiment with human subjects. Evolution and Human Behavior 23 (2002) 373-393
40. Kenney M., and von Burg U. Technology, entrepreneurship and path dependence: industrial clustering in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Industrial and Corporate Change 8 (1999) 67-103
41. Kotter J.P., and Heskett J.L. Corporate Culture and Performance (1992), Free Press, New York
42. Labov W. Principles of Linguistic Change: Social Factors (2001), Blackwell, Oxford
43. Langlois R.N. Personal capitalism as charismatic authority: the organizational economics of a Weberian concept. Industrial and Corporate Change 7 (1998) 195-213
44. Langlois R.N. Cognitive comparative advantage and the organization of work: lessons from Herbert Simon's vision of the future. Journal of Economic Psychology 24 (2003) 167-187
45. March J.G., and Simon H.A. Organizations (1958), John Wiley, New York
46. McBrearty S., and Brooks A.S. The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior. Journal of Human Evolution 39 (2000) 453-563
47. McElreath R., Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Shared norms and the evolution of ethnic markers. Current Anthropology 44 (2003) 122-129
48. Nelson R.R., and Winter S.G. An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change (1982), Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
49. Nooteboom B. Learning and Innovation in Organizations and Economies (2000), Oxford University Press, New York
50. Orlitzky M., Schmidt F.L., and Rynes S.L. Corporate social and financial performance: a meta-analysis. Organization Studies 24 (2003) 403-441
51. Penrose E.T. The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (1959), Basil Blackwell, London
52. Rathe K., and Witt U. The nature of the firm-static versus developmental interpretations. Journal of Management and Governance 5 (2001) 331-351
53. Richerson P.J., and Boyd R. Complex societies: the evolutionary origins of a crude superorganism. Human Nature 10 (1999) 253-289
54. Richerson P.J., and Boyd R. The evolution of subjective commitment to groups: a tribal instincts theory. In: Nesse R.M. (Ed). Evolution and the Capacity for Commitment (2001), Russell Sage Foundation, New York 186-220
55. Richerson P.J., and Boyd R. Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution (2005), The University of Chicago Press, Chicago
56. Richerson P.J., Boyd R., and Henrich J. The cultural evolution of human cooperation. In: Hammerstein P. (Ed). The Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation (2003), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 357-388
57. Rilling J.K., Gutman D.A., Zeh T.R., Pagnoni G., Berns G.S., and Kilts C.D. A neural basis for social cooperation. Neuron 35 (2002) 395-405
58. Rogers E.M. Diffusion of Innovations (1983), Free Press, New York
59. Rubin P.H. Evolved ethics and efficient ethics. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 3 (1982) 161-174
60. Salancik G.R., and Pfeffer J. A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly 23 (1978) 224-253
61. Simon H.A. Rationality as process and as product of thought. American Economic Review 68 (1978) 1-16
62. Simon H.A. Organizations and markets. Journal of Economic Perspectives 5 2 (1991) 25-44
63. Soltis J., Boyd R., and Richerson P.J. Can group-functional behaviors evolve by cultural group selection? An empirical test. Current Anthropology 36 (1995) 473-494
64. Tomasello M. Do apes ape?. In: Heyes C.M., and Galef Jr. B.G. (Eds). Social Learning in Animals: The Roots of Culture (1996), Academic Press, San Diego 319-346
65. Weisbrod B.A. The Nonprofit Economy (1988), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
66. Weisbrod B.A. Rewarding performance that is hard to measure: the private nonprofit sector. Science 244 (1989) 541-546
67. Williamson O.E. Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications (1975), Free Press, New York
68. Williamson O.E. The Economic Institutions of Capitalism (1985), Free Press, New York
69. Williamson O.E. The new institutional economics: taking stock, looking ahead. Journal of Economic Literature 38 (2000) 595-613
70. Williamson O.E. The theory of the firm as governance structure: from choice to contract. Journal of Economic Perspectives 16 3 (2002) 171-195
71. Wilson E.O. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
72. Winter S.G. Satisficing, selection, and the innovating remnant. Quarterly Journal of Economics 85 (1971) 237-261
73. Witt U. Imagination and leadership-the neglected dimension of an evolutionary theory of the firm. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 35 (1998) 161-177
74. Witt U. Changing cognitive frames-changing organizational forms: an entrepreneurial theory of organizational development. Industrial and Corporate Change 9 (2000) 733-755
75. Witt U. Firms as realizations of entrepreneurial visions. Journal of Management Studies 44 (2007) 1125-1140