----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- As regards context: 1) Chandler provides a seminal contribution towards the conceptualization of non-market coordination, in the wider framework of the emergence of the so-called managerial capitalism. In the process, the non-market coordination of the visible hand of management replaced the coordination of economic activities by means of the invisible hand of the market, in important sectors of the more advanced capitalist economies. 2) Williamson provides for a link between Chandler's historical approach and Industrial Organisation's theoretical concerns. As regards suggestions on readings, here are some references: Chandler, A.D. (1977) The Visible Hand. The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Cambridge, Harvard University Press; Managerial Hierarchies - Comparative Perspectives on the Rise of the Modern Industrial Enterprise (1980), A.D. Chandler & H. Daems (eds.), Cambridge, Harvard University Press (in particular, the Introduction by Chandler and Daems, and Oliver E Williamson's contribution on the implications of the emergence of the visible hand of management for Industrial Organization); Chandler A. D. (1992) "What is a firm? A historical perspective", European Economic Review, vol.36, pp. 483-994; Chandler A. D. (1992) "Organizational Capabilities and the Economic History of the Industrial Enterprise", Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 6, n.3, Summer, pp. 79-100; Simon, Herbert A. (1991) "Organizations and Markets", Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 5, n. 2, Spring , pp. 25-44; Stiglitz, Joseph E. (1991) "Symposium on Organizations and Markets", Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol.5, n. 2, Spring, pp. 15-24; The Nature of the Firm. Origins, Evolution and Development (1991) O.E. Williamson & S.G. Winter (eds), New York, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Maria de Fatima Brandao Universidade do Porto, Portugal ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]