Economics - Theses
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ItemThe growth of large mining firms in Australia: case-study: C.R.A. Ltd.( 1981)To discuss the issue of the growth of business firms fully would carry us through the whole economic theory and practice. Rather than pursuing the question through all its ramifications, I intend to deal with some aspects of the integration of business enterprise which have immediate bearing on the characteristics of firms and their relationships with one another. Regardless of the method used to integrate business activities, such method must be flexible, that is, being capable of accommodating a changing population of firms performing changing operations. To achieve such flexibility, more than one flexible method of integration may be used. There are three basic methods which may be mixed in varying proportions in any particular situation, namely, integration by administration, by market transactions and by co-operation, Since we do not have one firm within which all business activities are integrated by administration, we have to face the problems of what determines the boundaries of firms boundaries of geography, of processes of products and of size and what determines the choice between the other two basic methods of integration, the market and co-operation, which are used to co-ordinate activities beyond the boundaries of firms. In this part an attempt will be made to discuss briefly the following issues: (a) Why do firms specialise in particular processes and products? (b) Why are some firms more specialised than others? (c) What determines the size of the firm? (d) What are the merits of the three basic ways of integrating business activities? (From Introduction)