Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Division of Labor, Variability, Coordination, and the Theory of Firms and Markets

  • Book
  • © 1996

Overview

Authors:
  1. A. Camacho

    1. The University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Part of the book series: Theory and Decision Library A: (TDLA, volume 22)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 1-8

  3. The Division of Labor and Communication

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 9-29

  4. Variability and the Logic of Firms and Markets

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 30-45

  5. The Internal Organization of Complex Teams

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 46-67

  6. Variability, Coordination, Information Structure, and the Logic of Firms and Markets

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 68-81

  7. Variability and the Logic of Firms, Markets, and other Arrangements

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 82-94

  8. Adaptation Costs, Coordination Costs, and Optimal Firm Size

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 95-108

  9. Indivisibilities

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 109-127

  10. The Variability Approach and the Multiproduct Firm

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 128-138

  11. Concluding Remarks

    • A. Camacho
    Pages 139-143

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 144-153
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

A new approach to explaining the existence of firms and markets, focusing on variability and coordination. It stands in contrast to the emphasis on transaction costs, and on monitoring and incentive structures, which are prominent in most of the modern literature in this field. This approach, called the variability approach, allows us to: show why both the need for communication and the coordination costs increase when the division of labor increases; explain why, while the firm relies on direction, the market does not; rigorously formulate the optimum divisionalization problem; better understand the relationship between technology and organization; show why the `size' of the firm is limited; and to refine the analysis of whether the existence of a sharable input, or the presence of an external effect leads to the emergence of a firm.
The book provides a wealth of insights for students and professionals in economics, business, law and organization.

Authors and Affiliations

  • The University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

    A. Camacho

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation