Academic Papers et Plus
This page covers Staffan Canback’s academic papers, written since the 1990s.
The way to gain insights from this extensive library is to ask ChatGPT or similar to create summaries. Example: “Can you summarize in 2 pages the document “Staffan Canback (1997): Critique of Thesis by T.H. Klier, Michigan State. Henley Business School” at
https://scanback.github.io/docs/papers/”The response, really well written by ChatGPT, is here.
Doctoral Research
Staffan Canback (2002): Bureaucratic Limits of Firm Size: Empirical Analysis Using Transaction Cost Economics. Henley Business School
Dr. Canback’s seminal dissertation outlines a theory of scale diseconomies in large firms and quantifies the drivers of those disceconomies and mitigating factors. It won first prize in EDAMBA’s competition for best European doctoral dissertation in management science in 2003.
In addition to the subject matter, the dissertation deploys sophisticated statistical analysis methods later used within Tellusant. In particular, structural equation modeling.
The awarding of the doctorate is not only based on a well-defended dissertation. There are several other required papers that each partially fulfills the doctoral award requirements.
Staffan Canback (1997): Critique of Thesis by T.H. Klier, Michigan State. Henley Business School
This was the first required working paper. By writing a critique, we learned how to structure our own dissertations.
Staffan Canback (1997): Transaction Cost Theory and Management Consulting: Why Do Management Consultants Exist? Henley Business School
This was the second required working paper. It allowed me to learn about TCE while applying it to a topic I was familiar with.
Staffan Canback (1997): Literature Survey and Hypotheses Based on Transaction Cost Economics. Henley Business School
This was the third required working paper. Before writing the research proposal, it is important to establish what the precedents by the authorities are. Read-read-read.
Staffan Canback (1998): Proposal for a Test of the Transaction-Cost Explanation of Diseconomies of Scale. Henley Business School
This was the fourth required submission. A solid research proposal has to be approved by the advisors. Mine took a few iterations and delayed my progress by 1-2 years. But in the end it was all for the good.
Papers Derived from My Doctoral Dissertation
Canback, Staffan, Phillip Samouel & David Price (2006): Do Diseconomies of Scale Impact Firm Size and Performance - A Theoretical and Empirical Overview. Journal of Managerial Economics
This is an oft-cited summary of my dissertation, written by me and my dissertation advisors.
Staffan Canback: Bureaucratic Limits of Firm Size - Practitioners’ Summary. Henley Business School
This is an easy to digest summary of the dissertation void of any quantitative analysis.
Staffan Canback (2004): EDAMBA First Prize 2003 - Bureaucratic Limits of Firm Size. EDAMBA Journal
This is a summary of my dissertation Bureaucratic Limits of Firm Size, written for the EDAMBA Journal. It was contributed to commemorate my First Prize in the 2003 competition for best European doctoral dissertation in management and business administration, awarded by the European Doctoral Programmes Association in Management and Business Administration (EDAMBA).
Canback, Staffan, Phillip Samouel, and David Price (2006): Strategy and Structure in Interaction: What Determines the Boundaries of the Firm. Henley Business School
My advisors and I wrote this short summary of the dissertation at the request Henley Business School.
Beyond My Doctoral Research
Staffan Canback & Frank D’Agnese: Where in the World Is the Market? Problems and Perspectives in Management
Finding, measuring and capturing market opportunities in emerging countries are critical tasks for multinational consumer goods companies. Central to these tasks is the need to collect and analyze income distribution data within a globally coherent framework and to move beyond income metrics based on national averages.
Philip Burginyoung et al. (2023): The Consumer Impact of Pricing Actions
Consumer goods companies have increasingly been in the news for raising prices in today’s high global inflationary environment. With uncertainty about the true size and effect of these price increases, we examine how pricing is impacting both company volumes and consumer ability to pay on a global scale.
Staffan Canback: The Growth Tesseract: A Scientific View of Firms’ Growth Opportunities
Growth is an important topic for most firms. Yet they often lack a framework for organizing their thoughts on growth. This may lead to an inability to identify, quantify, and capture growth opportunities. This paper, based on parts of Dr. Canback’s doctoral research, sheds light on the issue.
Staffan Canback & Philip Burginyoung: Toward an Integrated Strategy Development Framework: A New Synthesis Based on the Giants of the Past
Strategic planning often suffers from inconsistencies by cycle and business unit, a slow process, and a lack of faith in results. Companies need to find solutions to improve this critical aspect of their business.
The starting place for any improvement in planning is to have a strong underlying strategy framework that anchors a company on its goals. This guide describes a structured approach to ensuring a better strategic planning process and how it links back to strategic thinking authorities.
Staffan Canback (2005): Does Corporate Size Matter? Axess magasin
This liberal arts article was commissioned by Axess. It explores what the meaning of size is and delves into societal issues far beyond mundane business topics.
Staffan Canback (2004): A Lightweight Note on Success in Mergers and Acquisitions
This note summarizes, in two pages, findings on what drives success in corporate M&A. Written two decades ago, the conclusions still hold.
Staffan Canback (1998): The Logic of Management Consulting, Part 1. Journal of Management Consulting
Part 1 explains what management consulting is, and how it has evolved since the 1800s. It introduces Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) to the lay reader.
Staffan Canback (1999): The Logic of Management Consulting, Part 2. Journal of Management Consulting
Part 2 explores the implications of TCE for why management consultants exist. The answer is nontrivial. After all, they did not exist meaningfully in the past, and they are less prevalent in countries like Japan. Why? TCE sheds light on this.
Staffan Canback & Richard Junestrand (2001): When Does Vertical Integration Make Sense?
One of the most important aspects of strategy development is to determine the appropriate level of vertical integration. There are large risks associated with vertical integration as a strategy: complexity, significant capital commitments, difficulty to reverse course if the strategy does not work.
Staffan Canback (1992): The Industrial Company in the Year 2027 (Predictions Made in 1992)
This paper is based on a presentation to McKinsey Nordics, where I was a partner. It took a 25 year perspective on what to expect. It has hits and misses. I will review the outcomes next year.