Berkeley PhD reading group revisits why firms exist as AI renews org theory
TaniaBabina · x · 2026-11-07
Economist Martin Beraja shared Session 6 of his UC Berkeley PhD reading group on Growth, Technology, and Innovation. The theme: 1990s organization-science classics argued firms are not just about economizing on transaction costs but about building and diffusing knowledge — "firms know more than they can tell." AI is making these ideas newly relevant, with an opportunity to bring them into economics via formal models and empirical discipline.
Readings included Kogut & Zander (1992) on combinative capabilities, Nonaka (1994) on organizational knowledge creation, and March (1991) on exploration vs. exploitation. The reading group pairs classics with new AI work to spot gaps for future papers.
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