Theory of the Firm for Strategic Management: Economic Value Analysis

by Manuel Becerra

Overview

Strategic decisions deal with the long-term direction of the firm and its main activities, usually the responsibility of the top managers in an organization. Because the firm is the critical unit of analysis in strategy, we need to define what firms are, how they create value, and what their organizational boundaries are in order to understand their overall performance. However, this must be done in a manner that is most useful for strategic analysis and decision making. In other words, we need a theory of the firm for business strategy. Theory of the Firm for Strategic Management integrates and expands key existing theories, like transaction costs economics and the resource-based view, to develop a value-based theory of the firm. This provides a framework to show how firms can create value for customers and, at the same time, capture economic profits for their owners through business, corporate, international, and social strategies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780511737879
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/05/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	736 KB

About the Author

Manuel Becerra holds the Accenture Chair in Strategic Management at the Instituto de Empresa Business School (IE), Madrid. His research has been published in many prestigious academic journals, including the Academy of Management Review and the Journal of Finance. He is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Management.

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; Part I. Theories of the Firm: 1. Introduction; 2. The contracting view of the firm; 3. The nature of the firm in strategy; 4. Creating economic value; 5. The appropriation of value by firms; Part II. Firm Strategies: 6. Business strategy; 7. Corporate strategy; 8. International strategy; 9. Strategy and social value; 10. Value analysis in strategy; Further reading; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

This book provides the most comprehensive synthesis of the different theoretical approaches to the topic of strategy. I agree entirely with Professor Becerra's view that the most useful way to think about any company is in terms of an entity whose twin goals are: first, to create value and, second, to appropriate a fair share of this value for its own shareholders. I recommend this book as the first thing that any Ph.D. student in strategy should read before tackling the details of the strategy literature in the doctoral seminars. From now on, it will be required reading in my own Ph.D. seminars.”
Anil K. Gupta, Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Strategy & Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland

“This is a fantastic book that will fill a major gap in the strategy literature. It provides a thorough review of prior theory and research concerned with the economic basis of strategic management. Management scholars and practitioners alike will find this to be a landmark publication that enhances our understanding of strategic decisions.”
Luis Gómez-Mejía, Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar and Regents Professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University

“An excellent and very timely book. In times of strategic turbulence the importance of sound theoretical grounding is accentuated. A must read for any serious student of strategy.”
Øystein D. Fjeldstad, Professor and Telenor Chair of International Strategy and Management, BI-Norwegian School of Management

From the Publisher