An Economic Theory of Managerial Firms ─ Strategic Delegation in Oligopoly

The separation between ownership and control has become common practice over the last century, in most medium and large firms across the world. Throughout the twentieth century, the theory of the firm and the theory of industrial organization developed parallel and complementary views on managerial firms. This book offers a comprehensive exposition of this debate.

In its survey of strategic delegation in oligopoly games, An Economic Theory of Managerial Firms is able to offer a reinterpretation of a range of standard results in the light of the fact that the control of firms is generally not in the hand of its owners. The theoretical models are supported by a wealth of real-world examples, in order to provide a study of strategic delegation that is far more in-depth than has previously been found in the literature on industrial organisation. In this volume, analysis is extended in several directions to cover applications concerning the role of: managerial firms in mixed market; collusion and mergers; divisionalization and vertical relations; technical progress; product differentiation; international trade; environmental issues; and the intertemporal growth of firms.

This book is of great interest to those who study industrial economics, organizational studies and industrial studies.

Luca Lambertini is full professor of Economics at the University of Bologna, Italy. He was previously the Head of the Department of Economics of the same University and member of the Executive Committee of EARIE (European Association for Research in Industrial Economics).