Competence relatedness, asset specificity and vertical integration : an integrating model of transaction cost economics and the competence perspective
Year: 1998
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study develops a conceptual model that explains vertical integration as a synthesis of\ntransaction costs economics and the competence perspective. It is proposed that variables\nderived from these two perspectives are complementary and interact in the vertical integration\ndecision. The underlying behavioral assumptions in the two perspectives are examined and\ndiscussed. The assumptions of opportunism and bounded rationality as used in the TCE-\nframework are respecified and based on a synthesis of transaction cost economics,\nevolutionary economics and the resource-based perspective.\nThe model developed was empirically tested on a sample of Norwegian hydroelectric power\nstations industry. The results from the test show that the concepts derived from the two\nperspectives have substantial impact on the vertical integration decision. Consequently, the\nsynthesis provides a much more powerful framework for explaining vertical integration, than\nthe two perspectives may contribute in isolation. Accordingly, the two perspectives should be\nintegrated into a unified framework sharing the same set of assumptions. Transaction cost\neconomics and the competence perspective are not, as previously argued, in conflict, but are\ncomplementary. In the last part of the dissertation theoretical and managerial implications are\npresented and discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Author: Boge Gulbrandsen
Language: English
Subfield: Management Information Systems
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2467695837