Abstract

The aim of the paper is to reconstruct from a sociological point of view the debate of the past decade on theories of the firm. It refers in particular to the Resource Based Theory (RBT) and Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). The paper's thesis is that the activities undertaken by firms are by now so diverse and complex that no single theory is able to give them exhaustive explanation. Rather, the paper argues, there is increasing reason for the various theories to abandon their long-standing competition against each other and to seek, if not integration, at least some sort of convergence.