This book brings together classic writings on the economic nature and organisation of firms, including works by Ronald Coase, Armen Alchian and Harold Demsetz, Michael Jensen and William Meckling, and Oliver Williamson, as well as more recent contributions by Paul Milgrom and John Roberts, Bengt Holmstrom, and Oliver Hart. Part I explores the general theme of the firm's economic nature and its place in the market system; Part II covers the scope of the firm; Part III examines internal organisation and the human factor; and Part IV ties the firm's organisation and behaviour to issues of financing and ownership. It also includes a consolidated bibliography of sources cited by these authors, and a new introductory essay by the editors which surveys the new institutional economics of the firm and issues raised in the anthology. The collection aims to introduce this core literature to advanced undergraduates, business and economics graduate students, and to scholars in allied disciplines including law, sociology, and organisation and management.