Enterprise Development: A Practice-based Theory Of Evolution View

The ontologies of the growth of the firm cover problems of the essential nature of the firm and fundamental problems of the growth of the firm. The problems of the essential nature of the firm relate to the existence, organization and boundary of the firm. The fundamental problems of the growth of the firm center on the essential proposition of the growth of the firm which indicates the growth of the firm is the unfolding process of improvement in quality and Schumpeterian innovation with interacting on environment and the managerial proposition of the growth of the firm which demonstrates the growth of the firm involve strategy, organization and managerial methods.The views available to explain the growth of the firm focus on the problems of essential nature of the firm (e.g. Contract theories, Knowledge-based Perspectives), processing (e.g. Life Cycle, Penrose, Chandler, Kay, Pettus and Ansoff) and strategy, organization and managerial methods (e.g. theories of strategy, theories of organization and various managerial means). All these views are exposed to failure of their analyses because we will verify that both no one of them is able to stretch to interpret all problems belonging to domains of the growth of the firm and weaker verisimilitude, more falsification and conflicts of these views still exist in what they can analyze.A Routine-Based Evolutionary Perspective (RBEP for short) will be developed. The RBEP will both accomplish analyses of the problems of the essential nature of the firm and the fundamental problems of the growth of the firm and criticize and integrate the views available. The RBEP has analytic advantages of simplicity, innovation, stronger verisimilitude and less falsification.The RBEP will suggest (a) assemblages of routines (procedural knowledge) with structural and coherent dimensions configure firm. (b) the growth of the firm is evolutionary process of the routines-based variation, selection and retention; dominant logic, path, organization learning and selection regime form idiosyncratic evolutionary theme of the growth of the firm. (c) the existence of the firm results from its effective configuration advantage of production and transaction obtained through routine-based evolution; The boundary of the firm is concerned with integration of contestable activities which depend upon coherent dimensions of routines and dynamic selection regime and integration of non-contestable activities which depend upon variation and retention of routines, dynamic selection regime and dominant logic, assemblages of routines and path. (d) the competitive advantage of the firm relies on processes and their coordination, organizational learning, path and dynamic industry selection regime. (e) the essence of strategy of the firm relates to three hierarchies with dominant logic, firm strategy and business strategy,which represents unification of idea, learning and position as strategy; the evolutionary theme of the growth of the firm can account for and forecast both positions and development such as specialization, diversification (related or unrelated), vertical integration, strategic alliance and network and business strategic exit. (f) routines and their structural and coherent dimensions can make rational and natural organizational micro-analyses; routines configure current and potential organizational structural forms; the complexity of routines/processesdetermines adaptation value of organizational structure; adaptation value of organizational structure possesses dynamics influenced by organizational imprinting and idiosyncratic evolutionary theme of the growth of the firm. (g) shared vision, trade-off management of routines/processes, complexity management of routines and processes-reengineering are consisted of dominant evolutionary managerial methods of the growth of the firm.