ABSTRACT
The enterprise, or the firm, is a key (and the ubiquitous) element of economic life. Debates over its structure and functions have lasted a long time, and there is hardly a unified theory (Hodgson, 1999). Intuitively, the following general description is accepted: the firm is envisaged as an entrepreneurial or corporate enterprise for manufacturing or/and commercial activities. Yet, regarding properties of the firm or the peculiarities that may distinguish it from any other social institution, various and often contradictory suggestions have been made (see, for example, reviews by Machlup, 1967; Hodgson, 1994).
