front cover of Coordination and Information
Coordination and Information
Historical Perspectives on the Organization of Enterprise
Edited by Naomi R. Lamoreaux and Daniel M. G. Raff
University of Chicago Press, 1995
Case studies that examine how firms coordinate economic activity in the face of asymmetric information—information not equally available to all parties—are the focus of this volume.

In an ideal world, the market would be the optimal provider of coordination, but in the real world of incomplete information, some activities are better coordinated in other ways. Divided into three parts, this book addresses coordination within firms, at the borders of firms, and outside firms, providing a picture of the overall incidence and logic of economic coordination. The case studies—drawn from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when the modern business enterprise was evolving, address such issues as the relationship between coordination mechanisms and production techniques, the logic of coordination in industrial districts, and the consequences of regulation for coordination.

Continuing the work on information and organization presented in the influential Inside the Business Enterprise, this book provides material for business historians and economists who want to study the development of the dissemination of information and the coordination of economic activity within and between firms.
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Inside the Business Enterprise
Historical Perspectives on the Use of Information
Edited by Peter Temin
University of Chicago Press, 1991
How do business enterprises control their subunits? In what ways do existing paths of communication within a firm affect its ability to absorb new technology and techniques? How do American banks affect how companies operate? Do theoretical constructs correspond to actual behavior?

Because business enterprises are complex institutions, these questions can prove difficult to address. All too often, firms are treated as the atoms of economics, the irreducible unit of analysis. This accessible volume, suitable for course use, looks more closely at the American firm—into its internal workings and its genesis in the Gilded Age. Focusing on the crucial role of imperfect and asymmetric information in the operation of enterprises, Inside the Business Enterprise forges an innovative link between modern economic theory and recent business history.
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front cover of Learning by Doing in Markets, Firms, and Countries
Learning by Doing in Markets, Firms, and Countries
Edited by Naomi R. Lamoreaux, Daniel M. G. Raff, and Peter Temin
University of Chicago Press, 1998
Learning by Doing in Markets, Firms, and Countries draws out the underlying economics in business history by focusing on learning processes and the development of competitively valuable asymmetries. The essays show that organizations, like people, learn that this process can be organized more or less effectively, which can have major implications for how competition works.

The first three essays in this volume explore techniques firms have used to both manage information to create valuable asymmetries and to otherwise suppress unwelcome competition. The next three focus on the ways in which firms have built special capabilities over time, capabilities that have been both sources of competitive advantage and resistance to new opportunities. The last two extend the notion of learning from the level of firms to that of nations. The collection as a whole builds on the previous two volumes to make the connection between information structure and product market outcomes in business history.


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Patents for Power
Intellectual Property Law and the Diffusion of Military Technology
Robert M. Farley and Davida H. Isaacs
University of Chicago Press, 2020
In an era when knowledge can travel with astonishing speed, the need for analysis of intellectual property (IP) law—and its focus on patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and issues of copyright—has never been greater. But as Robert M. Farley and Davida H. Isaacs stress in Patents for Power, we have long overlooked critical ties between IP law and one area of worldwide concern: military technology. This deft blend of case studies, theoretical analyses, and policy advice reveals the fundamental role of IP law in shaping how states create and transmit defense equipment and weaponry.
 
The book probes two major issues: the effect of IP law on innovation itself and the effect of IP law on the international diffusion, or sharing, of technology. Discussing a range of inventions, from the AK-47 rifle to the B-29 Superfortress bomber to the MQ-1 Predator drone, the authors show how IP systems (or their lack) have impacted domestic and international relations across a number of countries, including the United States, Russia, China, and South Korea. The study finds, among other results, that while the open nature of the IP system may encourage industrial espionage like cyberwarfare, increased state uptake of IP law is helping to establish international standards for IP protection. This clear-eyed approach to law and national security is thus essential for anyone interested in history, political science, and legal studies.
 
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Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark
Corporate and Police Spying on Activists
Eveline Lubbers
Pluto Press, 2012

The exposure of undercover policeman Mark Kennedy in the eco-activist movement revealed how the state monitors and undermines political activism. This book shows the other grave threat to our political freedoms - undercover activities by corporations.

Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark documents how corporations are halting legitimate action and investigation by activists. Using exclusive access to previously confidential sources, Eveline Lubbers shows how companies such as Nestlé, Shell and McDonalds use covert methods to evade accountability. She argues that corporate intelligence gathering has shifted from being reactive to pro-active, with important implications for democracy itself.

Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark will be vital reading for activists, investigative and citizen journalists, and all who care about freedom and democracy in the 21st century.

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Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy
Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy
Edited by David Miller and William Dinan
Pluto Press, 2007
Leading writers expose the scandalous world of corporate spin and its impact on media freedom, democracy and the health of our planet.

Bringing together leading activists and writers from the United States and beyond, this book unmasks the covert and undemocratic world of corporate spin.

Wherever big business is threatened or corporate advantage can be gained, spin doctors, lobbyists, think tanks and front groups are on hand to push the corporate interest, often at the wider public¹s expense.

The authors challenge the notion that corporate PR is only about celebrity gossip. They show how it extends much further, and how the techniques of the PR industry are now in use across a wide range of political fields, driven by corporate interests.

The authors reveal the secrets of the PR trade, including deception, the use of fake Œinstitutes¹ and think tanks, behind the scenes influence-peddling, spying and dirty tricks. Most importantly, they show the devastating impact spin has had--as the public is denied access to the truth, the results are rising inequality and environmental catastrophe.

The book covers the misdeeds of some of the best-known companies including BP, Coca Cola, British Aerospace, Exxon and Monsanto. It also reveals startling new information about the covert funding of apparently independent thinks tanks and institutes in the US, EU and around the globe.

Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy also offers a guide to resisting deceptive PR. The authors describe concrete campaigns involving the internet and new communication technology to organise, raise awareness and campaign to roll back corporate power and the influence of PR.

This volume is edited by William Dinan and David Miller (University of Strathclyde and Spinwatch). Contributors include: Laura Miller (PR Watch), Gerry Sussman (Portland State University), Kert Davies (Greenpeace US), Leslie Sklair (LSE, UK), Bob Burton (PR Watch, Australia), Judith Richter (author and activist), Olivier Hoedeman (Corporate Europe Observatory, Netherlands), Andy Rowell (Spinwatch, UK), Eveline Lubbers (Spinwatch, Netherlands), James Marriott and Greg Muttitt (Platform, UK), Aeron Davis (City University, UK), and Granville Williams (Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and Huddersfield University, UK).

Published by Pluto Press in association with Spinwatch (www.spinwatch.org) .

William Dinan is Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Geography and Sociology at Strathclyde University, specializing in corporate PR and lobbying.

David Miller is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Geography and Sociology at the University of Strathclyde. He has previously edited Arguments Against G8 and Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq for Pluto Press.
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