Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the 19th and 20th Centuries

This book examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries and subsequently engaged in foreign direct investment. Complex multinational business groups emerged controlling large investments in natural resources, processing, and services in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Table of Contents:
1. Concepts: 2. Foundations: 3. From Trade to Investment: 4. Trading in Crisis: 5. Concentration and Diversification: 6. Business Groups: 7. Management: 8. Networks: 9. Natural Resources: 10. Traders as Manufacturers: 11. End Game: 12. Conclusion: Appendix 1: Post-Tax Return on Net Capital Employed of Selected British Trading Companies, 1895-1998 Appendix 2: Pre-Tax Return on Net Capital Employed of Selected British Trading Companies, 1948-1998 Appendix 3: Sources for Calculations on Capital Employed of British Trading Companies

About the Author :
Geoffrey Jones is Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Review :
`an innovative contribution to British economic history ... also provides insight into emerging economics, which have often been neglected by Western scholars ... Merchants is a clear and coherent analysis of an elusive subject. It is nicely structured.' Timothy R.Whisler, Business History Review `provides business historians with a study that is impressive both as a work of synthesis and as a reinterpretation of the contribution of merchant enterprise to Britain's international economic performance.' Howard Cox, Business History, Vol.43, No.2, April 2001 `new light on the vexed issues of the relationship between the City and the domestic economy, on the nature of overseas investment and imperialism, on the nature of British management and on the role of trust and knowledge in economic performance.' Martin Daunton, THES 19.01.01. `Jones is an authority on the history of multinational enterprise ... In the present volume, he turns his attention to British traders. And, what a rich subject this turns out to be. ... an archive-based work that provides information not available elsewhere.' Mira Wilkins, EH.NET `Jones is superb is showing the variety; he not only discusses the traders but also their long-standing and complex external business relationships. ... Jones is excellent in tracing the multiple problems British trading companies faced in the years of the First World War, the 1920s, the 1930s, and of the Second World War.' Mira Wilkins, EH.NET `This is a splendid book. It not only delineates the trading companies' expansion (and contraction) but also puts that story in the context of the evolving world economy.' Mira Wilkins, EH.NET `This book is original and subtle, careful to pick up nuances, and to delineate properly its topic. It is a major accomplishment. Jones is ready to generalize and to theorize, but he does not oversimplify. The book will set the reader reflecting on British economic development and the British role in the global economy. It is essential reading for every economic and business historian interested in the history of multinational enterprise, in British economic history, and also in where British business fits in the evolution of the world economy.' Mira Wilkins, EH.NET