The Theory of the Growth of the Firm

There are not many books that are genuine classics, and only a handful in business and management whose insights and ideas last for 50 years and more. This book is one of the very few 'must reads' for anybody seriously interested in the role of management within the firm.Originally published in 1959, The Theory of the Growth of the Firm has illuminated and inspired thinking in strategy, entrepreneurship, knowledge creation, and innovation. Edith Penrose's tightly-argued classic laid the foundations for the resource based view of the firm, now the dominant frameworkin business strategy. She analyses managerial activities and decisions, organizational routines, and also the factors that inevitably limit a firm's growth prospects.For this new anniversary edition, Christos Pitelis has written a new introduction which both tells the story of Penrose's extraordinary life, and provides a balanced assessment of her key ideas and their continuing relevance and freshness.

Introduction, Christos Pitelis
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Firm in Theory
3. The Productive Opportunity of the Firm and the 'Entrepreneur'
4. Expansion Without Merger: The Receding Managerial Limit
5. 'Inherited' Resources and the Direction of Expansion
6. The Economies of Size and the Economies of Growth
7. The Economics of Diversification
8. Expansion Through Acquisition and Merger
9. The Rate of Growth of Firms Through Time
10. The Position of Large and Small Firms in a Growing Economy
11. Growing Firms in a Growing Economy: The Process of Industrial Concentration and the Pattern of Dominance
Introduction, Christos Pitelis
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Firm in Theory
3. The Productive Opportunity of the Firm and the 'Entrepreneur'
4. Expansion Without Merger: The Receding Managerial Limit
5. 'Inherited' Resources and the Direction of Expansion
6. The Economies of Size and the Economies of Growth
7. The Economics of Diversification
8. Expansion Through Acquisition and Merger
9. The Rate of Growth of Firms Through Time
10. The Position of Large and Small Firms in a Growing Economy
11. Growing Firms in a Growing Economy: The Process of Industrial Concentration and the Pattern of Dominance