The Growth of Big Business in the United States and Western Europe, 1850–1939

This book provides the first introductory, comparative account of the rise of giant business corporations in America and Europe in the century before the Second World War.

Christopher J. Schmitz (Author)

9780521557719, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 September 1995

120 pages, 4 b/w illus. 6 tables
21.6 x 13.8 x 0.8 cm, 0.25 kg

'Schmitz covers much of the ground required by business history students and their tutors ... he has certainly written a workmanlike and user friendly review of the current literature for students and teachers alike.' Terry Gourvish, Economic History Review

This book provides the first introductory, comparative account of the rise of giant business corporations in America and Europe in the century before the Second World War. It discusses the evolution of firms like Ford, Exxon, Unilever and Siemens, as well as introducing the reader to the major explanations that have been advanced by historians and economists in order to account for these developments in the global economic order.

Acknowledgements and Note
Editor's preface
1. Introduction
2. The nature and origins of big business
3. Variations in the rise and spread of big business
4. Institutional and technological factors
5. Markets, hierarchies and the managerial revolution
6. The impact of big business
7. Conclusions: history and theory
Notes and references
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ]