Showing papers by "Lars-Erik Gadde published in 2003"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that it is crucial for a company to relate its activities to those of other firms in order to enhance its performance, and it is through the continuous combining and recombining of existing resources that new resource dimensions are identified and further developed within business relationships.
517 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the evolution of firm boundaries must be understood in the context of decisions on how the firm relates to other actors in its environment and develop the notion of indirect capabilities to highlight how firm boundaries respond to the distribution of capabilities in the economy as well as the modes of access to complementary and external capabilities.
Abstract: The notion of firm boundaries has received considerable attention in theories of the firm that address the problems of investment incentives and mitigation of hold-up problems. In this paper we attempt to develop a different approach to the problem of vertical firm boundaries, based on recent advances in the capabilities view of the firm. Our arguments rely on the pioneering insights of Penrose, Richardson and Loasby to elaborate a view of the boundaries determined by the interaction of the firm's direct and indirect capabilities with other actors. We develop the notion of indirect capabilities to highlight how firm boundaries respond to the distribution of capabilities in the economy as well as the modes of access to complementary and external capabilities. We conclude that the evolution of firm boundaries must be understood in the context of decisions on how the firm relates to other actors in its environment.
192 citations
39 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the evolution of firm boundaries must be understood in the context of decisions on how the firm relates to other actors in its environment and develop the notion of indirect capabilities to highlight how firm boundaries respond to the distribution of capabilities in the economy as well as the modes of access to complementary and external capabilities.
Abstract: The notion of firm boundaries has received considerable attention in theories of the firm that address the problems of investment incentives and mitigation of hold-up problems. In this paper we attempt to develop a different approach to the problem of vertical firm boundaries, based on recent advances in the capabilities view of the firm. Our arguments rely on the pioneering insights of Penrose, Richardson and Loasby to elaborate a view of the boundaries determined by the interaction of the firm's direct and indirect capabilities with other actors. We develop the notion of indirect capabilities to highlight how firm boundaries respond to the distribution of capabilities in the economy as well as the modes of access to complementary and external capabilities. We conclude that the evolution of firm boundaries must be understood in the context of decisions on how the firm relates to other actors in its environment.
6 citations
01 Jan 2003
6 citations
Journal Article•
4 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: The aim of this paper is to illustrate the relevance of the sorting concept and use sorting as a basis for the development of an analytical framework that can be used to better understand some of the recent developments in distribution channels for industrial goods.
Abstract: Introduction 'Usually, upon hearing a mention of Wroe Alderson, the student of marketing feels vague stirrings in his mind of an almost mysterious notion known as sorting...' (Hostiuck & Kurtz 1973, p. 141) This paper deals with this 'mysterious' notion of sorting, which we consider to be one of the most important and useful concepts in marketing. According to Alderson (1957) the whole marketing process is at bottom a process of sorting. The sorting concept has been used mainly to explain the creation of assortments in distribution channels in terms of 'sorting out, allocation, assorting, and accumulation'. However, this is a partial interpretation only, because Aldersonian sorting is, in fact, a much richer concept. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the relevance of the sorting concept. We use sorting as a basis for the development of an analytical framework that can be used to better understand some of the recent developments in distribution channels for industrial goods. The framework is illustrated by examples from the distribution network in the PC industry. Finally, we provide some theoretical and practical conclusions and implications on the basis of our re-interpretation of sorting.
4 citations
3 citations
01 Jan 2003
2 citations