Introduction: Edith Penrose and The Theory of the Growth of the Firm — The Next Sixty Years

The papers in this volume, collectively and severally, suggest a vibrant research agenda inspired by Edith Penrose’s work. As the papers show, Edith Penrose’s work addresses the fundamental issues of strategy. How do firms behave? Why are firms different? What are the functions of headquarters? What determines success or failure in international competition? And in many cases, as our authors argue, her answers have not been bettered in the next half century. Questioning standard theory, working out how to ask fundamental questions and deriving the appropriate answers are hallmarks of Penrosean methodology. She hoped some would see The Theory of the Growth of the Firm as a work of art, for she was an artist of the human condition rather than a seeker of a rigorous theory.