ABSTRACT
In this chapter, an alternative perspective to the theory of the firm is proposed, drawing on Confucian conceptualizations of production and collaboration. This chapter bases the theorizing on Blair and Stout’s team production model of the corporation (TPM), which has become an attractive alternative to principal-agent models of the corporation. TPM literature has been developed to address opportunism, that is, problems of exploiting one’s position within an organization to acquire a benefit without giving anything (e.g., firm-specific investments) in exchange. The problems of team production have prompted a revival of the concept of authority within firms. This chapter argues that the prevailing conception of authority in the TPM literature is market-based and, therefore, fails to address team production problems. An alternative conception of authority in team production is offered: a Confucian communitarian account of the internal workings of a firm, including the production team and the hierarchy endowed with the authority to govern it. This distinctly Eastern approach introduces important new perspective-taking to the volume.
