The organization of work

Abstract

An evaluation of the organizational efficiencies of various modes of production by O.E. Williamson has led him to conclude that, given identical technologies, the factory was more efficient than the putting-out system. The superior organizational efficiency of the former, he maintains, was one reason for the transition to factory production during the nineteenth century. This paper challenges that view. It is argued that the way in which Williamson evaluates efficiency is open to methodological and other objections, and that there is limited empirical support for his hypothesis. Given an identical technology, the evidence suggests that the putting-out system was usually able to compete with the factory.