THE THEORY OF THE FIRM REVISITED FROM A POWER PERSPECTIVE
Résumé
Economists have traditionally repudiated power from the theorization of the firm,
shedding light on the amorphous and tautological character of this concept. Therefore, power
could not contribute to the productive efficiency of an economic organization. Power is
supposed to result exclusively from contract failures. On the contrary, we think that
economists have to revisit the theory of the firm from a power perspective. In this article, the
objective is triple. First of all, an original theoretical framework of power relationships, which
takes into account organization theory, is proposed in order to fill the conceptual vacuum left
by the theorists of the firm. Then, it is argued that power represents the methodological key
needed by economists to analyze the emergence of intra-firm cooperation and collective
social identity. Lastly, the focus is on the analysis of inter-firm cooperation to put forward the
cohesive role of power in the genesis of the network-firm.
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