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Abstract
The social construction of legal persons developed in the Western world about one thousand years ago has historically influenced the construction of organizations, including monasteries, guilds, cities, universities, states, associations, and businesses. Yet the notion of legal person was not present in influential, early definitions of organizations; rather organizations were understood as systems of interacting physical persons. This understanding is problematic in several respects, whereas the notion of legal person helps to explain many fundamental characteristics of organizations. Furthermore, a definition of organizations inspired by the notion of legal person makes it easier to distinguish clearly among the three phenomena that constitute the main objects of organization studies: organizations, organizing, and the organized. A clearer distinction among three concepts has the potential to revive old questions and generate new questions for organizational research.

The difference between markets and organizations is often exaggerated. In this book empirical examples are used for describing and analyzing how markets are organized, and the similarities and differences between market organization and the organization of formal organizations

It is common practice in organizational research to restrict the concept of organization to formal organizations, and to describe the world outside these entities by such other concepts as institutions or networks. It is argued in this article that the concept of organization can be fruitfully broadened to include some aspects of the order that exists outside and among organizations. A broader concept includes not only complete, formal organization, but also 'partial organization'. Both types of organization are based on decisions, but whereas complete organizations have access to all elements of organization, partial organization is based on only one or a few of these elements. Like complete organization, partial organization is a common phenomenon that not least characterizes much of the contemporary global order. The authors discuss how partial organization arises, how and why institutions and networks sometimes become organized, and the consequences of organization for change, transparency and accountability.