University of Massachusetts Boston ScholarWorks at UMass Boston Economics Faculty Publication Series Economics 1-1-2006 The Theory of the Firm, the Theory of Competition and the Transnational Corporation Janis Kapler University of Massachusetts Boston,
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[email protected]. 1 THE THEORY OF THE FIRM, THE THEORY OF COMPETITION, AND THE TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION Working paper, 9/06 J. K. Kapler, Associate Professor University of Massachusetts at Boston Department of Economics 100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3393 (phone) 617-287-6955 (fax) 617-287-6976
[email protected] 2 ABSTRACT The Theory of the Firm, The Theory of Competition, and The Transnational Corporation (TNC) JEL F23 Coase’s 1937 paper on “The Nature of the Firm” formed the basis of the transaction-cost and internalization theories of transnational enterprises in the 1970s-1990s. These emphasized the problem of firms transferring intangible assets across national borders. Newer theories of the firm adopt resource- based Penrosian, knowledge-based, capabilities and evolutionary perspectives, yet most continue to explain the international firm as a function of transaction-cost economizing.