Efficient Organization A Governance Approach

An enlightening examination of the economic fundamentals of efficient organizing, focusing on governance and avoiding organizational waste in all forms.

If there are two alternative ways to perform a task, why not choose the one that generates less waste? In Efficient Organization, Mikko Ketokivi and Joseph T. Mahoney take a practical and decision-oriented approach to organization design and governance. They first examine contracting and relationships within and across organizations in addition to special topics such as non-profits, public organizations, and stakeholder analysis. They then identity and discuss the main organization design and governance decisions and challenges relevant at the founding of the organization, during its expansion, and at maturity. Ketokivi and Mahoney maintain that the focus of efficient governance is about establishing the credibility of the organization in the eyes of its most important stakeholders. Establishing and maintaining credibility sustain viability of the organization. Highlighting the importance of securing cooperation across individuals and organizations for mutual value creation, this book provides tools that decision-makers can use in their own organizations.

Mikko Ketokivi is Professor of Operations Management and Organization Design at IE University, Madrid. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. His research and teaching focus on the economics of organization, operations management, research methods, and argumentation. He teaches, or has taught, these topics at business schools in the United States, France, Switzerland, Spain, and in his native Finland. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Ketokivi is an industrial entrepreneur who works with early-stage start-up companies in particular.

Joseph T. Mahoney is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and the Caterpillar Chair of Business in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the economic foundations of strategy, which includes transaction cost economics, property rights theory, agency theory, the resource-based/dynamic capabilities approach, and real options theory.

Preface
Acknowledgments

PART I: Fundamentals of Efficient Organization
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Efficiency Lens

PART II: Governance Within and Across Organizations
Chapter 3: Contracting Within and Across Organizations
Chapter 4: Stakeholder Analysis
Chapter 5: Non-profit and Public Organizations

PART III: Governance and the Organizational Lifecycle
Chapter 6: The Startup Organization
Chapter 7: The Expanding Organization
Chapter 8: The Institutionalized Organization

Epilogue
Glossary of Terms
References
Index