The paper addresses the problem of the allocation of decision rights on the shop floor. We try to solve particular limitations of Agency Theory by presenting a complementary approach based on Organization Theory and Transaction Cost Economics. Empirical evidence stems from two industries with...

This paper explores the links that the allocation of decision rights on the shop floor maintains with labor transaction attributes and several structural traits of the firm. The approach is based on the transaction cost apparatus and harnesses the theoretical and empirical background provided by...

The paper identifies four control mechanisms on the shop floor and explains their determinants. By enriching contingency and transaction cost theories with power notions, several hypotheses are tested in a dataset composed of 329 Spanish firms in the food and electronic industries. Results show...

We propose a model that associates basic research with product innovation through the absorptive capacity it generates, moderated also by the level of industry appropriability. To test these relations, we used a sample of 8,861 firms taken from a panel (PITEC). Our data suggest that basic...

Economic theory regarding moral hazard at work is somewhat at odds with recent business evidence. Whereas firms in economically and technologically stable environments could apparently follow conventional wisdom when trying to reduce moral hazard through tight supervision and incentive packages,...