Market and Management Failures

Abstract

This essay argues that more systematic consideration of market failures has the potential to change how we think about management and managerial failures. While economists disagree about the incidence of market failures and effectiveness of governmental attempts at remediation—cf. Harvard versus Chicago—they generally coincide in ignoring management failures. Conversely, management scholars tend to focus on management failures rather than market failures—as do those with higher education in management. This disconnect is unfortunate because it is at the intersection of market and management failures that “better” management is likely to matter most. One implication: “curricular social responsibility” involving more attention to market failures may be the educational equivalent of corporate social responsibility in the commercial world.