Big business has been at the heart of business history from its very beginnings, whether as a mere literary genre; or, more seriously in the last half century, as an academic discipline. The Chandlerian paradigm has considerably reinforced this trend, with other approaches to the subject being largely marginalized. Interest in big business has not waned with the advent of the post-Chandler era and is unlikely to do so, given its crucial role in economic development; but this role has been put in proper perspective and alternative forms of business organization reappraised as part of modern societies rather than mere archaisms. This article concentrates on defining the notion of big business; on comparing the various stages and the specific context of its development, especially in the United States, the major economies of Western Europe, and Japan; and on briefly discussing the socio-political dimension of the phenomenon.
This is a major comparative study of big business in Britain, France and Germany across the twentieth century. It provides an analysis, based on a wealth of empirical data, of the character and performance of the major companies in each country at five benchmark years: 1907, 1927, 1953, 1972 and 1989. Particular attention is given to size, sectoral distribution, profits and profitability, and survival and growth. It also focuses on business leadership, both at professional and social levels. It considers the competence of top businessmen and major aspects of the decision‐making process, and places business elites within the context of social and political developments. It challenges widely held assumptions about, in particular, entrepreneurial failure in Britain, the power of German big business, France's backwardness and modernity, and sociocultural determinants of business performance. It concludes to a clear British advance well into the 1950s and European convergence thereafter, despite the persistence of strong national characteristics of business organization. The latter, however, are unlikely to have had much impact on the performance of each country's leading business enterprises.
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