Demand theory grew out of the revision of utilitarianism. The original, Benthamite program - based on a naturalistic, hedonic interpretation of behavior - was replaced by an abstract, subjectivist approach, a motivational mechanics. The implications - expressed exclusively in observable...

As recognized since long, consumption serving to signal social status, group membership, or self-esteem is a socially contingent activity. The corresponding expenditures are motivated mainly by the symbolic value they have for transmitting the signal. However, this presupposes some form of...

The functionality of organizational routines, i.e. the factual value for accomplishing their purposes, is an important constraint on the capabilities an organization can bring to bear on its operations. Often falling short of its potential, the actual make-up of organizational routines invites...

Complex adaptive systems consist of a multitude of agents from whose individual adaptation efforts the adaptive behavior of the system as a whole emerges. In this paper it will be argued that capitalism is a complex adaptive system. Except for its particular mode of production many of its...

The fact that innovative capitalism needs institutional co-evolution has widely been recognized with respect to pro-active institutional adaptations. Examples are the rearrangement and safeguarding of supply chains or the creation of public institutions providing indispensable systemic...

In den letzten Jahren ist in der Ökonomik verstärkt darüber diskutiert worden, ob mit einem evolutorischen Ansatz ein verbessertes Verständnis wirtschaftlicher Abläufe und Veränderungen zu erreichen ist. Die Debatte fällt zusammen mit der Renaissance Schumpeterscher Ideen, stützt sich...

Das wirtschaftliche Geschehen aus einer Perspektive zu betrachten und zu erklären, die seine evolutionären Seiten hervorhebt, ist an sich ein altes Anliegen in der Volkswirtschaftslehre. Durch die Vorherrschaft statischer Konzepte lange Zeit in den Hintergrund gedrängt, findet eine solche...

The label "evolutionary" is currently used in economics to describe a variety of theories and topics. Far from inspiring the paradigmatic shift envisioned by some of the early proponents of evolutionary economics, the patchwork of theories and topics in this field demonstrates the need of an...

The question of what kind of innovations can secure our future is in this paper put in perspective with the unknown risks which innovations may imply. Innovations sometimes turn out to cause severe negative externalities after they have successfully passed the market test. In such cases, the...