While the concept of the ideal firm has been
studied over several centuries, little is known about what makes one successful
while another fails. In "Neuroeconomics and the Firm," co-edited by Dr. Mellani
Day of Colorado Christian University, Angela A. Stanton (Claremont Graduate
University, U.S.A.), and Isabell M. Welpe (Munich University of Technology,
Germany), leading researchers from a variety of fields explore the topic from a
pioneering neuroscientific perspective.
From the viewpoint of
economics, the firm's root purpose is to streamline strategy, operations, and
resources in order to maximize shareholder wealth. In "Neuroeconomics," the
editors suggest that these objectives are only equal to the objectives of the
firm's workers -- more specifically that hormone and gender factors are
scientifically shown to compromise strategic decision making and, ultimately,
the firm's bottom line.
Do people with higher testosterone levels
make decisions the same way as people with lower levels? Do men and women change
behavior when an attractive person of the opposite gender enters the office? Do
men and women affect each other within the firm to the firm's detriment?
"Neuroeconomics" draws on experimental, applied, and theoretical research to
analyze how things like human bio-physiology and hormone levels factor into
these uncomfortable yet frequently thought-of questions that have existed for
years in corporate settings.
Published by Edward Elgar (U.K.), the
book was released internationally in early 2010 and hit the U.S. market this
summer. Vernon L. Smith, the 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics, praised the book
as "an enlightening selection of articles that scholars, students, business
leaders, and managers will find a valuable read."
For more
information about the book, visit
Edward Elgar Publishing.