Cited by 1,512Economic Theory and InstitutionsManagement and Organizational StudiesOutsourcing and Supply Chain Management

Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism

Adler, Paul S.·2001·Organization Science

Abstract

Recent conceptualizations of trends in the structure of U.S. industry have focused on the relative importance of markets, hierarchies, and hybrid intermediate forms. This paper advances the discussion by distinguishing three ideal-typical forms of organization and their corresponding coordination mechanisms: market/price, hierarchy/authority, and community/trust. Different institutions combine the three forms/mechanisms in different proportions. Economic and organizational theory have shown that, compared to trust, price and authority are relatively ineffective means of dealing with knowledge-based assets. Therefore, as knowledge becomes increasingly important in our economy, we should expect high-trust institutional forms to proliferate. A review of trends in employment relations, interdivisional relations, and interfirm relations finds evidence suggesting that the effect of growing knowledge-intensity may indeed be a trend toward greater reliance on trust. There is also reason to believe that the form of trust most effective in this context is a distinctively modern kind—“reflective trust”—as opposed to traditionalistic, “blind” trust. Such a trend to reflective trust appears to threaten the privileges of currently dominant social actors, and these actors' resistance, in combination with the complex interdependencies between price, authority, and trust mechanisms, imparts a halting character to the trend. But the momentum of this trend nevertheless appears to be self-reinfo…

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Crossref · 10.1287/orsc.12.2.215.10117

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Authors
Adler, P. S.
Affiliations
University of Southern California (US)
Corresponding author
Adler, Paul S.
Venue
Organization Science
Published
2001-04
Volume
12
Issue
2
Pages
215-234
ISSN
  • 1047-7039 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-5455
OpenAlex
W3122097470
Cited by
1,512
References
160
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 68 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 83 · 2015: 83 · 2014: 65 · 2013: 90 · 2012: 91
FWCI
77.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Organization Science (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Theory and Institutions
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Outsourcing and Supply Chain Management
Keywords
knowledge economy, trust, market hierarchy, coordination mechanisms, blind trust, knowledge assets, employment relations, inter-firm relationships, post-capitalism, capitalism, organizational forms, institutional change

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