The Firm as a Subsociety: Purpose, Justice, and the Theory of the Firm

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gartenberg, Claudine; Zenger, Todd
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania; Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2022.1650
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: Theory of the firm; firm boundaries; corporate purpose; JUSTICE

摘要

Research in the theory of the firm tradition has often characterized firms as subeconomies, in which economic exchange is shaped by a central authority. We propose an expanded view of firms as subsocieties, in which authority is also responsible for establishing principles that shape cooperation among members. We draw on insights from political theory, sociology, and, to a lesser degree, legal theory to discuss how employees become members of subsocieties by exchanging rights, such as formal control over their work, for the benefits of membership. With this rights exchange, subsociety members develop expectations that those in positions of authority will use their control to define and sustain principles of justice and common purpose consistent with members' moral sentiments. This view suggests expanded roles for authority and firm boundaries from what are incorporated into standard theories of the firm. These expanded roles have implications both for internal governance and for the boundary itself: When considering boundary changes, leaders must weigh both the economic and the social consequences of their decision.