The Population Ecology Paradigm: Review And Critique

Abstract

The population ecology paradigm gained acceptance in the organizational theory literature during the late 1970’s and continues to influence the discipline. The paradigm draws heavily on the Darwinist notion of survival of the fittest. The application of ecological theories to the study of organizations was first proposed by Hannan and Freeman (1977). The following paper provides an overview and critical analysis of the extant literature. The paper concludes by suggesting that industrial economics provides a richer framework for analyzing organizational structures.