Capital, Entrepreneurship and Management: A New Austrian Theory of Organizations

Economic and organizational literature has long separated the figure of the capitalist and the manager, but it often continues to assimilate that of the capitalist and the entrepreneur around the notion of risk-bearing. Yet confusion between the two prevents any understanding of the essence of capitalism and delivers an erroneous and negative image of the private corporation. Taking care to distinguish individuals and functions, creators and beneficiaries of revenues, this book examines the respective places of both entrepreneurs and capitalists within the organization. It considers where these roles come into partnership and conflict, demonstrating the circumstances in which entrepreneur and capitalist interests can diverge. It also explores under what circumstances corporate capitalists can impede the efficiency of market mechanisms and shows that in certain kinds of organizations, managers can be the real entrepreneurs. We also explore the consequences on the institutional environment of the relations between entrepreneurs, capitalists and managers within the organization and propose an original approach to the theme of the destructive entrepreneur. The book will be of great interest to readers of economic organization, corporate governance and entrepreneurship.