A Case for Theoretical Pluralism

From the contents of the preceding chapters in this volume, it follows that it is perhaps no exaggeration to conclude that TCE is on the verge of establishing itself as the new orthodoxy in the new theory of the firm, that is to say, in the group of theories in which the firm is considered more than a production function. TCE can be considered the new orthodoxy, because compared to the other theories, the approach is well-established, its theoretical framework is well-developed, with hypotheses in many areas of economics and with positive results of empirical testing. From the preceding chapters, it has also become clear that many critics are arguing that the analysis should go beyond TCE and indicating how that should be done. In these conclusions, we want to address the intricate question: if the current state of the art is thus cursorily but correctly characterized, then what is the best way to proceed?