Invitation to read James G. March

James G. March has been a major student of organizations. He tried to understand how decisions happen in organizations, how organizations learn and adapt to their environment, how their goals and routines evolve. He observed and modeled the behavior of decision-makers with limited cognitive abilities, confronted with unstable and inconsistent preferences. He described the role of leaders in developing shared values and beliefs in an ambiguous world. He reflected on the role of institutions and on the characteristics of a good democratic governance in developing truth, justice and beauty.

Jim March was also a professor who has fascinated generations of Stanford students. It is in Don Quixote, Othello or War and Peace, rather than in management books, that he went to find the most eloquent descriptions on leaders struggling with the contradictions they face.

One of the most influential scholars on management of 20th century, March made decisive contributions to economics, sociology, psychology and political science. This book, originally published in French, is the first comprehensive overview of his entire body of work, presenting and popularizing its many facets.