Marshall’s scissors and a post-classical human organisation and praxis theory of value

Abstract We revisit Marshall’s scissors analogy to the theory of value in economics and his discussion of human actors and other determinants of value creation. We build critically upon Marshall and related literature in economics and organisations to propose a novel post-classical human organisation and praxis theory of value. The theory reinstates the role of entrepreneurs, managers and workers discussed by Marshall and incorporates and develops key Marshallian ideas on organisation, knowledge and innovation, increasing returns to scale, inter-firm cooperation and (in) industrial districts, and their subsequent developments. In so doing the post-classical theory of value helps address limitations of extant theories and provides opportunities for theory development and implications for public policy.