HISTORY 3526-101: Introduction to Business History

 

Dr. Jari Eloranta

Associate Professor of Comparative Economic and Business History

Appalachian State University, Department of History

Office: Belk Hall 1059

Phone: 262-6006

E-mail: elorantaj@appstate.edu

 

Course Description:

The objective in this course is to survey the latest theories and empirical applications in the field of business history. Geographically the focus will be on American and European business history. In addition, we will survey the development of business history from the 20th to the 21st century. Topics in the course include the development of multinational firms and the managerial revolution, family firms, armaments producers, business-government relations, and Nokia. Moreover, we will acquaint ourselves with some local business history and visit the Appalachian Collection.

 

Teaching Format: lectures and discussion meetings

Schedule: HIS 3526-101:     MWF 1 p.m.-1.50 p.m. (Room 1138, Belk Hall)

Course Resources:

-August 26th: Introduction to the Class

-August 28th: Essay Writing Workshop

Readings:

*Using sources: http://www.educationforum.co.uk/Page4.htm; http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/howTo/primarysecondary.html   

*Be careful if you have to use electronic sources (rule of thumb: don’t use them!): http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/

*General advice on essay writing: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/advise.html; On referencing, see: http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/howTo/cite/index.html.

-August 31st: Economic History Versus Business History

Readings:

*Cole, Arthur (1974), THE BIRTH OF A NEW SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINE: Achievements of the First Generation of American Economic and Business Historians – 1893-1974. Available from: http://eh.net/misc/birth.html.

*Chandler, Alfred D. Jr. (2003), ‘The Opportunities for Business History at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century’. In Franco Amatori & Geoffrey Jones (eds.), Business History around the World. Cambridge University Press, New York 2003.

*Kindleberger, Charles (1990), Historical Economics: Art or Science? . University of California Press, Part I (available as via Appstate Library through NetLibrary).

-September 2nd: History of Business History

            Readings:

*Cole, Arthur (1974), THE BIRTH OF A NEW SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINE: Achievements of the First Generation of American Economic and Business Historians – 1893-1974. Available from: http://eh.net/misc/birth.html.

            *Business History around the World, Chapters 1-2.

-September 4th: Theory 1: Multinational Corporations

            Readings:

*Coase, Ronald (1937), ‘The Nature of the Firm’, available from: http://www.cerna.ensmp.fr/Enseignement/CoursEcoIndus/SupportsdeCours/COASE.pdf

            *Business History around the World, Chapters 3 and 17.

-September 9th: Information 1: Digital Collections and Microfilm Sources (with

Amauri Serrano and Georgie Donovan, Library classroom 028, lower level)

            Readings:

*Acquaint yourself with the Appstate Library collections in advance. Come prepared to ask questions, relevant to the class and your own research interests.

*See: http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/howTo/index.html

-September 11th: Information 2: The Appalachian Collection and Primary Sources

(with Pam Mitchem, at the Appalachian Collection Special Collections’

reading room, upstairs in the Library)

Readings:

*Acquaint yourself with the Appalachian Collection offerings (see: http://www.library.appstate.edu/appcoll/) and Library collections in advance. Come prepared to ask questions, relevant to the class and your own interests.

-September 14th: Theory 2: The Managerial Revolution and Chandler

            Readings:

*Kleiner, Art (2002), ‘Professor Chandler’s Revolution’. Strategy & Business,   Available from: http://www.well.com/~art/PDF%20Files/s%2Bb22002cm.pdf.

*John, Richard R., ‘Elaborations, Revisions, Dissents: Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.’s The Visible Hand after Twenty Years’. BHC Forum, available from: http://www.thebhc.org/publications/rjbhr.html.

-September 16th: Theory 3: Interdisciplinary Challenges

            Readings:

            *Business History around the World, Chapters 2-4.

*On history of management theories, see: http://telecollege.dcccd.edu/mgmt1374/book_contents/1overview/management_history/mgmt_history.htm.

*Dunning, John. H. (1989), ‘The Study of International Business: A Plea for a More Interdisciplinary Approach’. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 411-436.  (use: www.jstor.org)

-September 18th: Theory 4: Family Firms

            Readings:

*Business History around the World, Chapter 16.

*Jones, Geoffrey (1997), ‘Global Perspectives and British Paradoxes’. The Business History Review, Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 291-298. (use: www.jstor.org)

*Blackford, Mansel G. (1991), ‘Small Business in America: A Historiographic Survey’. The Business History Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, Small Business and Its Rivals, pp. 1-26.

-September 21st: European Business History 1

            Readings:

            *Cassis 2004, Parts I-II.

-September 23rd: European Business History 2

            Readings:

            *Cassis 2004, Parts III-IV, Conclusion.

-September 25th: Group Analysis 1:

-September 28th: Group Analysis 2:

-September 30th: American Business History 1

            Readings:

            *Chandler 1977, Introduction, Parts I and II (pp. I-205).

-October 2nd: American Business History 2

            Readings:

            *Chandler 1977, Part III-V, and Conclusion

-October 5th: Group Analysis 3:

-October 7th: Movie: Corporation (part 1)

-October 9th: Movie: Corporation (part 2)

-October 12th: Discussion of the movie (in class), in groups and jointly.

-October 14th: Midterm exam

-October 19th: Case 1: Interwar Armaments Firms

Readings:

*Eloranta, Jari (2009), ‘Rent seeking and collusion in the military allocation decisions of Finland, Sweden, and Great Britain, 1920–38’. Economic History Review, Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 23-44. (find on your own!)

*Tooley, T. Hunt (2005), ‘Merchants of Death Revisited: Armaments, Bankers, and the First World War’. Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 37-78 (available from: http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/19_1/19_1_4.pdf).

*Also, search internet databases on what you can find on the Vickers company!

-October 21st: Case 2: Cold War Armaments Firms

            Readings:

*Harkavy, Robert E. (1994), ‘The Changing International System and the Arms Trade’. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 535, The Arms Trade: Problems and Prospects in the Post-Cold War World, pp. 11-28.

*Kirby, M.W. (1997), ‘Britain’s “Manifest Industrial Destiny”: The Culture of High Technology and Industrial Performance in the Twentieth Century’. Business and Economic History, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 751-769.

*McGlade, Jacqueline (2005), ‘COCOM and the Containment of Western Trade and Relations’. In Jari Eloranta & Jari Ojala (eds.) East-West Trade and the Cold War. Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities 36, Jyväskylä, pp. 47-61 (find in the Library!)

-October 23rd: Group Analysis 4:

-October 26th: Case 3: Appalachian Furniture Companies (with Charles Watkins)

            Readings:

*TBA

-October 28th: Group Analysis 5:

-October 30th: Reading day, no class meeting. PREPARE YOUR ESSAYS! I am

available for private consultation on that day, if you make an appointment.

-November 2nd: Case 4: Business-Government Relations in the 20th Century (THE FIRST ESSAY IS DUE!)

            Readings:

*J.-A. Lamberg, M. Skippari, J. Eloranta, and S. Makinen (2004), ‘The Evolution of Corporate Political Action: A Framework for Processual Analysis’. Business & Society, December 1, 2004; 43(4): 335 – 365: http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/43/4/335

*Business History around the World, Chapter 18.

-November 4th: Group Analysis 6:

-November 6th: Case 5: Nokia

Readings:

*Häikiö, Martti (2001), Nokia – Inside Story’. Edita, Helsinki, pp. 13-41 (electronic reserve).

*See also: http://www.nokia.com/A4126375 and http://r2.nokia.com/nokiahistory/index.html

*Vesikansa, Jyrki (2004), ‘Finnish industry today after major changes’. In Virtual Finland: http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=28308

-November 9th: Group Analysis 7:

-November 11th: Case 6:  Sugar Producing Companies in Louisiana (with Michael Wade)

Readings:

            *TBA

-November 13th: Country Patterns 1: USA and Business History

*Business History around the World, Chapter 5.

-November 16th: Country Patterns 2: British and Dutch Business History

            Readings:

*Business History around the World, Chapter 6.

-November 18th: Country Patterns 3: Scandinavian Business History

            Readings:

            *Business History around the World, Chapter 7.

-November 20th: Group Analysis 8:

-November 23rd: Group Analysis 9:

-November 30th: Group Analysis 10:

-December 2nd: Country Patterns 4: Business History in France and Italy (THE SECOND ESSAY IS DUE!)

            Readings:

            *Business History around the World, Chapters 9-10.

-December 4th: Challenges in Business History in the 21st Century

            Readings:

            *Business History around the World, Part III (especially Chapter 19).

            *Coleman, Donald (1987), ‘The Uses and Abuses of Business History’. Business History 29, pp. 141 - 156. (use Appstate Library catalog to find the article, e.g. EBSCO)

*Eloranta, Jari, Jari Ojala & Heli Valtonen (2010, forthcoming), ‘Quantitative Methods in Business History: An Impossible Equation?’. Management and Organizational History. (ask the lecturer for a copy)

-December 7th: Review, preparation for the final exam (in class)

-Final exam: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 from 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM