The German Yearbook on Business History is a source of insights into the entrepreneurial economy of the 19th and 20th centuries. It contains translations of topical journal articles and informative reviews of results and trends in business history research. As in the previous Yearbooks, the authors of this volume are experts in economic theory and practice whose contributions cover a wide spectrum.

Contents: Practical Corner: The Evolution of the Exchange Rate from "Sacrosanct" Parity to Flexible Monetary Policy Instrument.- Historical Studies: The Society for Business History: A Decade of Work. The Bankers Simon and Abraham Oppenheim 1812-1880. The Private Background to Their Professional Activity, their Role in Politics and Ennoblement. Russian Business in the Brüning Era.- Reviews of Literature: A Review of the New Literature on Business History.- A Review of the New Literature on Banking History. Reports on Conferences. The German Yearbook on Business History is a source of insights into the entrepreneurial economy of the 19th and 20th centuries. It contains translations of topical journal articles and informative reviews of results and trends in business history research. As in the previous Yearbooks, the authors of this volume are experts in economic theory and practice whose contributions cover a wide spectrum.

During the 1920s, the "black decade" of British steel, nearly everyone agreed that the industry's revival depended on replacing obsolete equipment and instituting modern technologies that would increase production and decrease costs. Despite consensus, these goals were not reached and, even after wartime and postwar reconstruction needs were met, the industry continued its steady decline. Steven Tolliday advances three hypotheses for this stagnation. First, the problems of British steel, Tolliday suggests, were embedded in the structures of individual firms and of the industry as a whole--both unchanged since the prosperous years of the nineteenth century--and after World War I fractured by conflicting interests (share holders, managers, family members, bankers, creditors). Second, the two external institutions that might have enforced reorganization and modernization--the banking system and the government--were overcautious, had complex and contradictory goals, and lacked the management skills to exploit their potential financial leverage. Third, the many attempts at reform by banks and government collapsed because these establishments, like the industry itself, were constrained by traditions and antiquated structural rigidities. This excellent example of a new direction in business history--analysis of a given industry by conveying the interaction of technology, markets, companies, financial institutions, and government--brings many important theoretical questions into focus and also contributes substantially to the scrutiny of specific problems, such as why the British economy appears to be in irrevocable decline.

The German Yearbook on Business History contains a wealth of articles on corporate and business history in the 19th and 20th centuries. The authors are scientists and businessmen.

This Handbook provides a state-of-the-art survey of research in business history. Business historians study the historical evolution of business systems, entrepreneurs and firms, as well as their interaction with their political, economic, and social environment. They address issues of central concern to researchers in management studies and business administration, as well as economics, sociology and political science, and to historians. They employ a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, but all share a belief in the importance of understanding change over time. The Oxford Handbook of Business History has brought together leading scholars to provide a comprehensive, critical, and interdisciplinary examination of business history, organized into four parts: Approaches and Debates; Forms of Business Organization; Functions of Enterprise; and Enterprise and Society. The Handbook shows that business history is a wide-ranging and dynamic area of study, generating compelling empirical data, which has sometimes confirmed and sometimes contested widely-held views in management and the social sciences. The Oxford Handbook of Business History is a key reference work for scholars and advanced students of Business History, and a fascinating resource for social scientists in general.

"Scale and Scope concentrates on patterns of industrial growth and competitiveness in three leading industrial nations -- the United States, Germany, and Great Britain."--Page 2 of cover.