Mikko Ketokivi is Professor of Operations Management and Organization Design at IE University, Madrid. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. His research and teaching focus on the economics of organization, operations management, research methods, and argumentation. He teaches, or has taught, these topics at business schools in the United States, France, Switzerland, Spain, and in his native Finland. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Ketokivi is an industrial entrepreneur who works with early-stage start-up companies in particular. Joseph T. Mahoney is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and the Caterpillar Chair of Business in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the economic foundations of strategy, which includes transaction cost economics, property rights theory, agency theory, the resource-based/dynamic capabilities approach, and real options theory.
Written by two of the foremost experts on the topic, this book is the best attempt so far at explaining Transaction Cost Economics in a way that is meaningful to anyone serious about designing organizations. A much-needed addition to the literature! * Felipe Csaszar, Professor of Strategy, University of Michigan * This book is a must-read for anyone who has a role in the design and governance of organizations. This book provides a wonderful synthesis of key organizational insights from economics, sociology, and organizational theory that suggest a path for the development of what the authors describe as 'efficient organizations.' In these turbulent times this book holds valuable pointers for scholars and practitioners alike on how we might conceive of organizational design going forward. * Ranjay Gulati, Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School * Whether designing a start-up or redesigning an established organization, strategic decisions are most sustainable when leaders are sophisticated and forward looking about governance. In Efficient Organization, Mikko Ketokivi and Joe Mahoney provide this sophistication and foresight by illuminating the comparative governance perspective of Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson. This intriguing book offers many detailed illustrations from businesses and non-profits and delivers vital know-why and know-how. The topic is so central (and underutilized) to organizational design that the book should be mandatory reading for every entrepreneur, Executive MBA, and C-suite executive. * Jackson Nickerson, Frahm Family Professor of Strategy and Organization Emeritus, Olin Business School, and Executive Vice President and Chief Social Scientist, EPC Learning Labs LLC *