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Oliver Williamson: a Hero's journey on the merits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2021

Joseph T. Mahoney  and
Jackson Nickerson Open the ORCID record for Jackson Nickerson [Opens in a new window]
Joseph T. Mahoney
Affiliation:
Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Jackson Nickerson*
Affiliation:
Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nickerson@wustl.edu
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Abstract

Joseph Campbell describes a narrative pattern for a hero's journey. ‘A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from the mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man’ (2008: 30). This paper looks at Oliver E. Williamson's life through Campbell's lens and reveals his journey, challenges, and triumphs not only for himself but also for all students of the science of organization.

Keywords

Economic HistoryTransaction Cost EconomicsOliver WilliamsonInstitutional Economics
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 195 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Millennium Economics Ltd 2021

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