In this paper we investigate the ways in which new forms of organization enabled by digital technologies such as crowdsourcing and digital marketplaces are allowing firms to circumvent and defy traditional knowledge constraints. This is part of the broader question of when and why these forms of...

There is a heightened lack of clarity and understanding about the new U.S. business forms both in terms of theory and practice, especially with regard to relative priorities of social good (or the absence thereof), decision-making, and meaningful accountability thereto (or the lack thereof). As...

This paper considers the twofold problem of compensation contracting and the design of a human capital investment scheme. Before contracting the principal and the agent can engage in a joint stochastic production process of exerting effort to raise the agent's productivity in the firm. The...

This paper considers a hidden action agency model in which an agent can be incentivized to simultaneously work and self train to increase productivity. We determine conditions under which the principal wants to incentivize concurrent working and training and conditions under which the agent...

This paper considers a firm's optimal investment in training and motivation measures in a hidden action agency problem. We study how these measures interact with each other and the contract in order to create value for the firm. Productivity enhancing training can be firm specific or non-firm...

This paper presents findings from a census of more than 79,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in 37 consumer packaged goods categories totaling $55 billion in annual revenue. It shows that, in 86% of product categories, the relationship between market share and retail distribution is increasing and...

Alliances have been studied extensively in the past and various arguments suggested to explain their evolution and eventual termination. We argue that one important explanation of alliance termination has remained overlooked, one where the mechanism revolves around resource value and is...

In this article I make three main arguments. First, the appropriate governance choice for firms is one that reflects the tradeoff between market failure and relational failure or, in other words, between knowledge appropriability and knowledge accessibility. Second, through what may be...

The longevity that characterizes many family businesses is explained, to a large extent, by the continuous effort that is made within them to ensure their own governance over the years. To this end, it is important that the structures and regulations developed in the various decision-making...

We examine decentralization -- that is, the use of more than one decision maker -- in small- to medium-sized organizations, with a particular focus on family firms. Our estimation results suggest that larger firms decentralize more often, as do firms with newer owners, organizations with a...