Scale, scope and entrepreneurship

Abstract

To exploit the economies of scale and scope in multi-product technologies, enterprises in advanced capitalist countries grew in the last 150 years in three directions. By substituting in the place of traditional entrepreneurs professional managers, they developed organisational capabili-ties to co-ordinate effectively activities that were widely dispersed geographically and function-ally. They promoted rapid innovation by resorting to systematic Research and Development ef- forts. And, finally, they enhanced control over their markets by introducing innovations whose application required large-scale investment. In the course of these transformations the material standards in the respective countries rose to unprecedented levels. But simultaneously they led to losses in market co-ordination be-cause these transformations increased market imperfections. As a result the economies of scale and scope appear to be negatively related to the ratio of co-ordination to innovation in the econ-omy. Hence, to the extent that policy makers strive to achieve the priorities of citizens, they are advised to allow for the implications of this relationship to the best of available information.Entrepreneurship, co-ordination, innovation, economies of scale and scope.