Business History Research Articles

Uniting business history and global environmental history

This article introduces the contributions in the special issue and explains its aims. It observes that scholars in both environmental and business history are increasingly interested with the question of how knowledge flows over long distances, which is the central theme of this special issue. The introduction also serves to establish the relevance of the contributions to academics who research ‘environmental knowledge management’. Although this term did not exist during any of the historical periods covered by the contributions in this special issue, the firms discussed here were nevertheless engaged in this complicated task.

Thinking about industry decline: A qualitative meta-analysis and future research directions

We analyze historical and longitudinal research focusing on industry decline. Our analysis suggests that the literature’s general reliance on a few meta-theoretical arguments has important consequences for how decline is framed and explained. We identify four meta-theoretical clusters in the literature: politics and market dynamics are seen as exogenous factors with deterministic features, whereas technology and management capabilities are framed as firm-internal failures with causally questionable explanations of how firm-level characteristics explain industry-level decline. We propose that it is important to understand the limitations of distinct meta-theoretical arguments for an enhanced theoretical and methodological understanding of what industry decline is, how it takes place, and why. Accordingly, this study contributes to business history research by restructuring and clarifying latent theoretical issues, demonstrating the pros and cons of researchers’ choices, and offering guidelines and propositions for researchers interested in industry decline.

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, STANDARD OIL, AND THE RISE OF CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS IN PROGRESSIVE AMERICA, 1902–1908

When the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil in 1911, it marked the end of an unsuccessful campaign by the company to improve its public standing. Standard Oil's failure to mollify public opinion in the aftermath of Ida Tarbell's muckraking masterpiece, “The History of the Standard Oil Company,” has resulted in a historiographical record that negatively assesses the company's response. This article reassesses the company response by placing it within the wider context of business history in the early twentieth century. It offers a detailed exploration of the public relations initiatives of Standard Oil from 1902 to 1908. Additionally, the article views the affair through the lens of standard corporate practices of the early Progressive Era, when large businesses had only begun to promote favorable public images. It argues that progressive reform inadvertently aided the rise of big business by teaching corporations the importance of promoting favorable public images. This wider context reveals that Standard Oil's public relations response, if unsuccessful, was not as aloof as others have argued. In fact, the company made a concerted effort to change public opinion about its business practices.

ANTi-History and the entrepreneurial work of privateers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to theorize the social role of management systems and their political connections using ANTi-History. In so doing, it engages with academic conversations around the writing of business history. The paper focuses on subjective experience in the context of colonial privateers and the vice-admiralty court in the Napoleonic Wars era.Design/methodology/approachANTi-History is proposed as a theoretical lens to examine the entrepreneurial work of privateers. ANTi-History destabilizes the idea of history as a dominant account of the past and is interested in controversies as to how history is produced. This paper also brings-in Bourdieu’s notion of officialization because historical knowledge is situated in official practices that conceal translations and political strategies that enable actor-networks to act as one.FindingsThe controls of the vice-admiralty court not only perpetuated the inherited British class system, but also created versions of reality that came to be accepted as recorded history. This shows that the rules and regulations of the court were not neutral accounting activities. The systems constituted the identity of actors and produced privateer history as a modernist knowledge of the past and officialized by western, white, male, elites.Originality/valueThe “historic turn” in management and organization studies has not been fully realized more than a decade after its introduction. This paper engages with the historic turn by providing a specific exemplar of history as applied to officialized accounts of colonial privateers. Using ANTi-History as a methodological approach also makes a contribution by promoting it beyond a prolonged descriptive phase.

Towards micro-foundations of institutional change

PurposeGiven managerial choices and the sociocultural context in which they are made are at the heart of management history, then an understanding of both is critical. This paper argues that the “late” North (2005) provides such an understanding.Design/methodology/approachThis study is a research review synthesizing much disparate but cognate literature across the new institutionalism in organizational sociology/studies and in economics.Findings“Late” North (2005) provides an important ontological frame for dealing with the so-called “paradox of embedded agency”, an approach that may afford management historians a more thorough account of how institutions are formed and change over time. North has always maintained that institutional change is the outcome of deliberate or intentional choices made by actors. However, and unlike his earlier work which ignores how humans come to make the said choices, North (2005) explicates the sociocognitive process by which intentionality emerges with expanded consciousness, as humans construct ideas and beliefs about reality, beliefs that shape decisions to alter the said reality via the process of institutional change.Originality/valueIt is rather curious that despite North’s status as a “historian”, management historians – or at least those publishing in this journal from its founding in 1995 – do not seem to be terribly interested in North’s work. Although North rates a mention in rival journals, other than Dagnino and Quattrone’s (2006) study, papers in this journal invoking institutional theory align with the new institutionalism in organizational sociology/studies (NIOS) rather than North’s new institutional economics (NIE). Even in the related sub-discipline of business history, those professing an interest in institutions are more interested in the NIE of non-historians Coase and Oliver Williamson than they are in North’s NIE. And, in recent work analysing the place and significance of institutional theory in historical research, the foundations are unmistakeably NIOS rather than North’s NIE.

The Harvard Research Center in Entrepreneurial History and the Daimonic Entrepreneur

This paper sketches the intellectual history of the Research Center in Entrepreneurial History, founded at Harvard in 1948, which helped established the contours of business history as a discipline. This history was shaped by the rivalry between N. S. B. Gras, the “father of business history,” and Arthur H. Cole, which defined still extant polarities in the field of business history. It provides context for the emergence of the figure of the “entrepreneur,” conceived of as an ambiguous and potent force of creative destruction, and of entrepreneurship as business history's preeminent and vital dynamic. The paper focuses on German émigré Fritz L. Redlich, who was central to the Center's work, and whose “creative entrepreneur” was conceived in explicit relation to the daimon, the godlike, frighteningly ambiguous, and often destructive power of inspiration and creativity.

The Traces of Founding Period in the 30 Years' History of Korean Academy of Business Historians

The Traces of Founding Period in the 30 Years' History of Korean Academy of Business Historians

The take-off stage in the 30 years of the Korean Academy of Business History(KABH, 1995~1999) - Important activities and performances during the take-off stage -

The take-off stage in the 30 years of the Korean Academy of Business History(KABH, 1995~1999) - Important activities and performances during the take-off stage -

Legal structure, business organisations and lobbying: The Japanese publishing sector, 1990–2001

How did incumbents in Japanese publishing maintain resale price maintenance (RPM)? This article sheds light on the inter- and intra-industrial structure that enabled the protection of RPM, or the fixed price system, amid the country-wide liberalisation in the 1990s. By analysing textual data including governmental reports, trade papers in publishing and leaflets adopted for lobbying, the critical decade was reconstructed. It addresses a scarcity of business history literature about the link between RPM and business organisations, particularly concerning lobbying.

Cellophane, the New Visuality, and the Creation of Self-Service Food Retailing

This working paper examines how innovations in transparent packaging, specifically cellophane, in the mid-twentieth century United States helped retailers to create full self-service merchandising systems, including selling perishable food. While self-service stores began appearing in the late 1910s, self-service was initially applied only to grocery and dry goods, such as canned foods and a box of breakfast cereals. It was not until after World War II that the majority of American grocers adopted self-service to meat and produce sections. Business historians have explored the development of this self-service merchandising from the perspectives of marketing strategies, store operations, and relationships between customers and store clerks. However, the significance of the development of cellophane as a new packaging material, and the role of packaging manufacturers in promoting self-service, has yet to be analyzed. This working paper fills this void by showing that the expansion of self-service operation and the increasing use of transparent packaging had a significant impact not only on how consumers purchased foods but also on how they understood food quality.

Corporate law and corporate control in West Germany after 1945

According to the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ and ‘Law and Finance’ approaches, legal institutions regulating corporate finance and governance shape specific national varieties of capitalism. This article analyses legal debates and practices of corporate control in post-war Germany from the perspective of business history. It argues that the stock corporation law did not have a significant impact on control practices. The law only roughly outlined rights of the supervisory boards and defined minimum standards. There was considerable room for manoeuvre within the corporations, and various effective and some ineffective control arrangements were possible. The article indicates that not only legal institutions but external political and economic factors were important for Germany’s coordinated market economy and for the development of greater capital market control.

A review of marketing strategies from the European chocolate industry

This paper reviews the main marketing strategies applied by the European chocolate industry. It focuses on the role of country-of-origin, product diversification and scenarios, and provides a historical overview of the industry. This is followed by a discussion of the association between a brand and country-of-origin, before scrutinising the chocolate industry. The analysis of this study uses evidence gathered from the consumer chocolate ranking, company annual reports, consultant statistics, corporate websites and the newspaper archives. The analysis compares the marketing strategies of case studies selected; namely, Ferrero Rocher, Cadbury, Lindt and Sprüngli and Godiva. Moreover, emphasis is placed on the similarities and differences of these brands and other chocolate brands outside Europe. The study’s existing literature and analysis suggests that historical context and business history play important roles over time.

Multinational business and host countries in times of crisis: Courtaulds, Glanzstoff, and Italy in the interwar period

AbstractDespite the considerable attention granted to the history of international business, we still have a limited knowledge of the historical impact of multinationals on host economies. This article presents the case of the giant Italian rayon firm Snia Viscosa which was acquired by its direct rivals, Courtaulds in the UK and the German firm Glanzstoff, in 1927. Italian deflation which underpinned the return of the country to the gold standard between 1925 and 1927 and the parlous financial conditions of Snia Viscosa proved incentives in what seemed to be a fire sale investment. This investment mitigated the credit crunch and allowed Snia Viscosa to have access to foreign rayon expertise. Evidence suggests that the regime and economic nationalism exerted some pressure on foreign interests and were instrumental in the abandonment of plans intended to reduce Italian rayon output dramatically. One contribution of this article is its use of business history to illustrate how recessions can reshape foreign direct investment flows and the tensions that may arise between domestic business interests and foreign stakeholders during recessions. In addition, the history of Snia Viscosa shows the importance of foreign interests and multinationals in the long‐term industrialization of Italy.

Van Metaaldraadlamp tot Agnetapark

From Filament Bulb to Agneta Park: Dutch Capitalism in the Twentieth CenturyIn this review article, Jeroen Touwen discusses a series of seven books published between 2008 and 2015 under the title Bedrijfsleven in Nederland in de Twintigste Eeuw (Business in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century), and the edited volume in English that contains the major conclusions and has some further reflections on the characteristics of Dutch capitalism. To which extent does the series meet recent demands of business history? Is the narrative connected with the characteristics of the national business system and the origins and development of economic growth? And does this business history transcend the microeconomic history of the individual company? This review article positions the series, with its wide and colourful range of facts and events, in the context of recent literature on business history. It particularly examines the conclusions on comparative capitalism.

Van Metaaldraadlamp tot Agnetapark

From Filament Bulb to Agneta Park: Dutch Capitalism in the Twentieth CenturyIn this review article, Jeroen Touwen discusses a series of seven books published between 2008 and 2015 under the title Bedrijfsleven in Nederland in de Twintigste Eeuw (Business in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century), and the edited volume in English that contains the major conclusions and has some further reflections on the characteristics of Dutch capitalism. To which extent does the series meet recent demands of business history? Is the narrative connected with the characteristics of the national business system and the origins and development of economic growth? And does this business history transcend the microeconomic history of the individual company? This review article positions the series, with its wide and colourful range of facts and events, in the context of recent literature on business history. It particularly examines the conclusions on comparative capitalism.

Furnishing Scotland and the World: Morris & Co., Glasgow, 1945–65

Although many British furniture manufacturers were increasingly aware of design innovation throughout the 1930s, and several even began to employ simpler forms and produce items in steel or plywood, the majority remained faithful to conservative styles. Efforts to educate the public about modern design went some way towards introducing greater levels of understanding – among producers and consumers both – but for many it was easier to play safe and continue along well-worn paths. During the post-war years, when a break with tradition and a culture more open to the Scandinavian aesthetic tentatively developed, the Glasgow firm Morris & Co. were one of those who embraced most fully these new ideas and who made a significant contribution to design innovation. Drawing business and design history together, this article discusses the ways in which the company championed the contemporary styles emanating from Europe and North America, how it positioned itself within the wider British manufacturing industry, and the ways in which its director, Neil Morris, envisaged for both his products and his firm a truly global reputation.

Knowing nature in the business records of the Hudson’s Bay Company, 1670–1840

After being established by royal charter in 1670, the London-based Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) created an impressive environmental record of British North America in its accounting and journals. The quality and flow of environmental information to its London Committee, however, changed by the nineteenth century, when directors privileged ‘facts’ rather than mere environmental observation. Of direct use within its emerging management accounting system, explicit environmental information flows had their greatest impact within the company’s regions, rather than in London itself. The HBC’s changing quality and flow of environmental information suggest ways to rethink commercial empires of knowledge in business and environmental history.

Hey DJ, don’t stop the music: Institutional work and record pooling practices in the United States’ music industry

Heeding calls to generate a creative synthesis between business history and organisation studies, this article analyses the emergence, institutionalisation and digitalisation of record pooling practices through the lens of institutional work. By developing an ‘analytically structured history’, this article contributes to the field of business history by demonstrating the value of practice and boundary work as organising categories. Practice and boundary work capture the continuous, recursive relations between structure and agency when constructing narrative explanations. It also contributes to neo-institutionalist history by demonstrating the embeddedness of institutional work – the everyday motivations and actions to revise practices and boundaries are shown to be intimately shaped by the conditions and affordances of historically-situated technologies.

Internationalization of China’s Shanxi Province New Merchants: Implications and Use in Teaching IB

ABSTRACTThe Jin (Jin refers to Shanxi Province) merchants have a very important position in the history of Chinese business. The Jin merchants is a business course that investigates Shanxi businessmen and their business activities. As a local characteristic of the business curriculum of China, this course is taught in a number of universities. Taking the development of the new Jin merchants in Toronto as a breakthrough point, this article expounds the necessity of teaching the internationalization of the Jin merchants and puts forward the corresponding development strategies from the aspects of teaching objectives, curriculum, and the building of an international cooperation platform of teaching and scientific research. This study can promote teaching the internationalization of the Jin merchants and provide a chance for more people to understand the teaching of the Jin merchants.

Fashion watches: The emergence of accessory makers as intermediaries in the fashion system

Abstract The objective of this article is to analyse the historical conditions of the emergence of accessory makers as intermediaries in the fashion system, with the example of the watch company Fossil Inc. More specifically, it sheds light on the twofold evolution of watchmaking (towards global value chains centred on Hong Kong) and of the fashion industries (towards the need to enlarge profits through accessorization), which has led to an increase of newcomers to these industries. This article approaches its investigation from the perspective of business history. The analysis of Fossil since 1984 is based on corporate annual reports and offers a survey of the organizational evolution of the watch and fashion industries, in order to shed light on the strategy and decision-making of this company. In the context of the discussion about the role of intermediaries in creating and legitimizing fashion, this contribution offers new evidence about understudied actors in the industry, i.e. accessory makers. It shows that firms like Fossil are not only passive suppliers of branded accessories, but also contribute to the growth of accessory sales – and consequently, to the strengthening of fashion brands.