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Organizational Capabilities and the Economic History of the Industrial Enterprise
Author(s): Alfred D. Chandler
Source:
The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Summer, 1992), pp. 79-100
Published by:
American Economic Association
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http://www.jstor.org/stable/2138304
Accessed: 25-02-2016 12:09 UTC
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Journal of Economic Perspectives- Volume 6, Number 3- Summer 1992-Pages 79-100
Organizational Capabilities
and the Economic History
of the Industrial Enterprise
Alfred D. Chandler
A
s a historian who has spent a career in examining the operations and
practices of business firms, I have not given much thought to precise
definitions of the firm. I have had little trouble locating information on
literally hundreds of individual enterprises. Nor do individuals have difficulty
in identifying the firms in which they work or the securities of those in which
they invest.
But for economists, the question of defining a firm and its role and
functions in