Understanding Industrial Organizations

Understanding Industrial Organizations critically reviews the approaches developed by industrial sociologists to analyze industrial organizations. It outlines four general perspectives on organizations - systems thinking, contingency approach, the action approach and labour process for a more adequate sociology of organizations. The book provides a clear, relevant and important contribution to the sociology of organizations.

Understanding Industrial Organizations critically reviews the approaches developed by industrial sociologists to analyze industrial organizations. It outlines four general perspectives on organizations - systems thinking, contingency approach, the action approach and labour process for a more adequate sociology of organizations. The book provides a clear, relevant and important contribution to the sociology of organizations.

Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice has rightly been described as a "classic" in the history of organizational theory. First published in 1965 it was a major contribution to the development of contingency theory and our understanding of the relationship between technology and organizations.The book stood in marked contrast to the traditions of scientific management. Combining detailed empirical research and a pioneering analytical framework it suggested that technology and production systems played a crucial role in shaping effective organizational structures. In doing so Joan Woodward offered lasting insights into issues of levels of hierarchy and spans of management control - issues that today might be discussed in terms of "delayering" and "process re-engineering".Woodward's work was a springboard for much subsequent research and many of her specific observations have been widely debated and challenged. Yet, as Sandra Dawson and Dorothy Wedderburn write in their Introduction, "the main thesis of the book is well known...however, this is a book where to know its main thesis is no substitute for reading the book itself. Joan Woodward's ideas remain one of the cornerstones of our knowledge of our organizations."

Understanding Industrial and Corporate Change contains pioneering work on technological, organizational, and institutional change from leading theorists and practitioners such as Joseph Stiglitz, Oliver Williamson, Masahiko Aoki, Alfred D. Chandler Jr., and Sidney Winter. Trans-disciplinary in its approach, the book explores three distinct themes: Markets and Organizations; Evolutionary Theory and Technological Change; and Strategy, Capabilities, and Knowledge Management. The chapters are drawn from the journal Industrial and Corporate Change, reflecting the diverse contributions it has published since 1992 in such areas as business history, industrial organization, strategic management, organizational theory, innovation studies, organizational behavior, economics, political science, social psychology, and sociology. Understanding Industrial and Corporate Change provides an accessible account of recent research and theory on technological, organizational, and institutional change for academics and advanced students of Business and Management, Organization Theory, Technology and Innovation Studies, and Industrial Economics.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice–which features early coverage of Antitrust–punctuates its modern introduction to industrial organization with relevant empirical data and case studies to show readers how to apply theoretical tools.

An issue-driven introduction to industrial organization, thoroughly updated and revised. The study of industrial organization (IO)—the analysis of the way firms compete with one another—has become a key component of economics and of such related disciplines as finance, strategy, and marketing. This book provides an issue-driven introduction to industrial organization. Although formal in its approach, it is written in a way that requires only basic mathematical training. It includes a vast array of examples, from both within and outside the United States. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and revised. In addition to updated examples, this edition presents a more systematic treatment of public policy implications. It features added advanced sections, with analytical treatment of ideas previously presented verbally; and exercises, which allow for a deeper and more formal understanding of each topic. The new edition also includes an introduction to such empirical methods as demand estimation and equilibrium identification. Supplemental material is available online.

Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies provides an up-to-date account of modern industrial organization that blends theory with real-world applications. Written in a clear and accessible style, it acquaints the reader with the most important models for understanding strategies chosen by firms with market power and shows how such firms adapt to different market environments. It covers a wide range of topics including recent developments on product bundling, branding strategies, restrictions in vertical supply relationships, intellectual property protection, and two-sided markets, to name just a few. Models are presented in detail and the main results are summarized as lessons. Formal theory is complemented throughout by real-world cases that show students how it applies to actual organizational settings. The book is accompanied by a website containing a number of additional resources for lecturers and students, including exercises, answers to review questions, case material and slides.