What is Edith Penrose’s legacy for the theory of the firm?

ABSTRACT

Prompted by centenary celebrations of the contribution of Edith Penrose to the theory of the firm, the development of resource-based views of the firm (RBV) and knowledge-based perspectives, this article considers the continuing usefulness of Penrose’s perspective for strategic management, from the point of view of the practitioner, the management educator and to the development of the academic field of strategic management. As authors, we draw on methods originating with Penrose’s pioneering case study methodology by framing illustrative ‘vignettes’ or case examples for discussion, including that of Tesco, which draws on extensive participant observation as well as theory.

KEYWORDS:

• Penrose
• strategic management
• firm strategy
• growth of the firm
• case study method
• business education
• learning organisation
• Tesco

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• D21
• D830
• L100
• L2
• M
• M21

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.