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SURVEYING THE ECONOMICS OF PLURAL MODES OF ORGANIZATION
Author(s) -
Raynaud Emmanuel,
Schnaider Paula Sarita Bigio,
Saes Maria Sylvia Macchione
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of economic surveys
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.657
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1467-6419
pISSN - 0950-0804
DOI - 10.1111/joes.12315
Subject(s) - plural , transaction cost , phenomenon , economics , agency (philosophy) , product (mathematics) , microeconomics , industrial organization , business , marketing , positive economics , sociology , linguistics , epistemology , mathematics , social science , philosophy , geometry
Why do firms concomitantly rely on more than one organizational arrangement to procure/distribute a given input/product? In this paper, we systematically review and discuss the extensive path undergone by the literature exploring this issue: the so‐called plural forms. We address two main questions: how to explain the coexistence (and often the prevalence) of plural forms in many types of businesses? Are plural forms stable or a transitory phenomenon? We describe the most prominent motivations identified in the economics and management literature that drive firms to adopt plural forms and show that their vast majority are related to the mitigation of various types of agency/transaction costs. We also demonstrate that most of the available pieces of empirical evidence suggest the stability of plural forms over time. We conclude by demonstrating the path that has been trailed by the most recent developments.