Ronald Coase’s paper, “The Nature of the Firm,” compares companies with the alternative of everybody being an independent contractor cooperating with other inde

Ronald Coase’s paper, “The Nature of the Firm,” compares companies with the alternative of everybody being an independent contractor cooperating with other independent contractors on individual projects. I think it’s an interesting thought experiment, and it focuses on why companies operate in a authoritarian way internally. Occasionally, companies try to organize with market principles internally, with divisions charging each other for services performed. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it turns into Sears.