The 1990s have witnessed a vast growth of research on the topics of trust and learning. This can be explained by the profound technological and organizational changes that have made both inter-and intra-firm trust indispensable for sustaining the forms of learning that underlie successful competitive performance.Trust and Economic Learning brings together innovative research by an internationally recognized group of scholars from Europe and the United States. The distinction between trust and a variety of related concepts, including reputation, implicit contracts and confidence is examined. The links between learning and trust are then explored using a number of original empirical contributions and theoretical approaches including an adaptation of game theory, Marengo's computational model of organizational learning and the 'step by step' rule developed by Lazaric and Lorenz. In addition, Bayesian learning models are compared with evolutionary approaches based on tools of artificial intelligence to evaluate the preconditions for establishing trust. This unique volume will be a highly useful companion to traditional graduate-level texts in industrial organization. It constitutes a valuable source of knowledge for practitioners and policymakers alike. It will also be of interest to scholars interested in evolutionary and institutional economics, technology and innovation and international business.

This comprehensive two-volume collection draws together the key contributions - both theoretical and empirical - from economics and management literature on human and organisational knowledge, learning and routine behaviours. Volume I discusses conceptions of knowledge and the problems of organisational and technological learning. Volume II contains both theoretical and applied research on organisational routines.

Why do societies benefit differently from knowledge? How exactly does social interaction interfere with knowledge acquisition and diffusion? This original Handbook brings together a wide range of differing approaches to shed light on these questions and others relating to the role and relevance of knowledge in economic analysis. By illuminating the philosophical roots of the various notions of knowledge employed by economists, this Handbook helps to disentangle conceptual and typological issues surrounding the debate on knowledge among economists. Wide-ranging in scope, it explores fundamental aspects of the relationship between knowledge and economics - such as the nature of knowledge, knowledge acquisition and knowledge diffusion. This important compendium embraces various fields and traditions of economic analysis and discusses the role of knowledge in 21 papers from outstanding international scholars. Advanced scholars and postgraduate students interested in cross-fertilization between different fields of economic analysis will find this Handbook of considerable importance. Contributors: A. Amin, R. Arena, M. Augier, M.C. Becker, T. Brenner, T. Broekel, P. Cohendet, G. Dosi, J. Durieu, V. Dutraive, M. Egidi, A. Festre, D. Foray, T. Knudsen, N. Lazaric, B.J. Loasby, B.-A. Lundvall, P. Nightingale, B. Nooteboom, A. Orlean, R. Patalano, L. Ragni, S. Rizzello, P.P. Saviotti, P. Solal, A. Spada, U. Witt

This book showcases advanced empirical research that applies the concept of organizational routines to understanding organizations and how they change and evolve. The contributions gathered in the book cover qualitative, quantitative, and archival methods for empirical research applying the concept of organizational routines. Specific issues highlighted include the use of event-sequence methods in the analysis of organizational routines, the impact of standard operating procedures on recurrent behaviour patterns, and the stability, resilience, and change of organizational routines. The book thus provides an overview of different empirical methods applied to study organizational routines, and of their prerequisites, analytical power, and contribution. This comprehensive book will be of great interest to scholars and postgraduate students in the fields of organization theory, strategy, and organization behaviour. Researchers in organization, management and economic science, organizational change and evolutionary theories will also find this book invaluable.