The Rise and Decline of the British Motor Industry

A concise 1995 review of the strengths and weaknesses of the British motor industry during the one hundred years since its foundation.

Roy A. Church (Author)

9780521552837, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 September 1995

156 pages, 10 tables
21.6 x 14 x 1.3 cm, 0.35 kg

"Church's book, like others in this series, is aimed primarily at students and secondarily at their teachers. ...anyone seeking an introduction to the British motor industry and a guide to further reading will find Church's book an excellent place to start." Robert Casey, Technology and Culture

The decline of the British motor industry is one of the most spectacular developments in Britain's economic history. Conflicting explanations have been offered by scholars from different disciplines to produce a complex debate, which this 1995 study attempts to unravel. Placing the industry firmly in a European context, Roy Church re-examines the critical assessment of the achievements of the industry both before and after the onset of its decline in the 1960s, and goes on to test the various explanations which have been offered to account for this decline. He examines the role of government, of the trade unions, of management and of the multinationals, each of which has been seen as a major player in the demise of the British-owned industry. This concise and lucid review of the debate will be invaluable to students of modern British and European economic history.

Acknowledgements
Themes
Part I. The Origins of British Pre-eminence in Europe: 1. The rise of the British motor industry before 1914
2. War and its aftermath: gains and losses
3. The framework of protection: demand at home and overseas
4. Fordism and the British system
5. The dynamics and limitations of 'personal capitalism'
6. Fordism and the British approach to markets and marketing
7. Debilitating environment: structures and strategies
Part II. The Roots of Decline: 8. Postwar pre-eminence: attainment and erosion
9. Private investment and public policies: government and industry
10. Manufacturing systems: management and labour
11. The role of organised labour: strikes and productivity
12. Industrial relations: Fordism and post-Fordism
13. Fordist structure and strategy: the managerial organisation
14. Industrial structure, organisation and corporate culture: the origins and performance of BMC
Part III. The Vicissitudes and Collapse of a 'National Champion': 15. Anatomy of a merger: the rise of British Leyland
16. The effects of merger
17. British Leyland's productivity dilemma: markets and productivity
18. The nationalised champion: policies and personalities
19. From nationalisation to privatisation
20. Globalisation and the role of multinationals
21. Explaining decline
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ]