Culture is now seen as fundamental in understanding economic performance in businesses and nations. This pioneering interdisciplinary collection brings together economists, sociologists and business historians to explore the issues involved. The business history focus provides an ideal way to relate the conceptual questions to empirical investigation. The book will therefore interest readers in the social sciences and management studies.

Introduction -- Approaches and debates -- Forms of business organization -- Functions of enterprise -- Enterprise and society.

This shortform book presents key peer-reviewed research selected by expert series editors and contextualised by new analysis from each author on how the specific field addressed has evolved. With contributions on the ‘historic turn’ in management studies, workers’ rights, occupational health, industrial networks and the development of the organisation, practices and principles of large UK businesses, this volume provides an array of fascinating insights into industrial history. Of interest to business and economic historians, this shortform book also provides analysis and illustrative case-studies that will be valuable reading across the social sciences.

Inspired by the work and legacy of Francesca Carnevali, this collection brings together new research into nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and European economic history, socio-cultural history and business history. This collection brings together new research into nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and European economic history, socio-cultural history and business history. It is inspired by the work and legacy of Francesca Carnevali who, throughout her career, encouraged a lively dialogue between these different disciplines. The book offers innovative views and perspectives on key debates and emphasises the connections between economic environments and wider social and cultural elements. It also considers methodological issues and emerging approaches in economic history. Topics include banks and business finance in the nineteenth century, mass-market retailing and class demarcations, economic microhistory, and comparative history and capitalism. Economic, business, social and cultural historians alike will find it of interest. PAOLO DI MARTINO is Senior Lecturer in International Business History at the Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. ANDREW POPP is Professor of Business History at the University of Liverpool. PETER SCOTT is Professor of International Business History at the University of Reading's Henley Business School and Director of Henley's Centre for International Business History. CONTRIBUTORS: Andrea Colli, Paolo Di Martino, Leslie Hannah, Matthew Hilton, Ken Lipartito, Lucy Newton, Andrew Popp, Peter Scott, Anna Spadavecchia, James Walker, Chris Wickham

This text presents for the first time the history of international business, using both a case and contextual approach. Case studies from around the world are analyzed in both their internal and external contexts. Divided into five geographical sections--Europe, North America, Central America/South America/the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia/the Western Pacific--the text features case studies of particular businesses of various periods, as well as essays on international business and economic integration in the particular regions. Introductions to each section define main themes and relate the case studies to those themes; commentaries introduce each case study and summarize key issues. This pioneering text is suitable for upper-division courses in international business history. It can also serve as a supplementary text in courses in international economic history, international economic relations, economic development, and comparative management

The field of management and organizational history has reached a level of maturity that means an overview is long overdue. Written by a team of globally renowned scholars, this comprehensive companion analyses management and organizational history, reflecting on the most influential periods and highlighting gaps for future research. From the impact of the Cold War to Global Warming, it examines the field from a wide array of perspectives from humanities to the social sciences. Covering the entire spectrum of the field, this volume provides an essential resource for researchers of business and management.

Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research is an excellent resource for students and researchers in the areas of organization studies, management research and organizational psychology, bringing together in one volume the range of methods available for undertaking qualitative data collection and analysis. The volume includes 30 chapters, each focusing on a specific technique. The chapters cover traditional research methods, analysis techniques, and interventions as well as the latest developments in the field. Each chapter reviews how the method has been used in organizational research, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using the method, and presents a case study example of the method in use. A list of further reading is supplied for those requiring additional information about a given method. The comprehensive and accessible nature of this collection will make it an essential and lasting handbook for researchers and students studying organizations.

Increasing globalization, cutthroat competition, recurrent financial crises, and new social media technology provide unimaginable strain on companies to rethink their human resources practices. Such ever-growing business environments particularly call upon companies to develop sustainable leadership practices and create a well-established organizational climate. By promoting an organizational value system, the leader can influence the work behavior and attitudes of the employees and results. Corporate Leadership and Its Role in Shaping Organizational Culture and Performance is an essential reference source that investigates the influence of corporate leadership on the organizational culture and performance of a company and ways in which this understanding can improve firm effectiveness, nurture entrepreneurial behavior and practices, and establish innovative processes. Featuring research on topics such as intellectual capital, job satisfaction, and gender inequality, this book is ideally designed for managers, executives, business leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, academicians, and students.

Working out Gender brings together leading scholars and young researchers to examine the various ways in which gender is currently being used in labour history. Having been a dynamic and contentious category of historical analysis since the mid 1980s gender continues to incite much debate. This volume seeks a more informed view about labour history both by advancing the position of women and making their lives central to learning and by examining men as gendered persons and discussing the social construction of masculinity. A broad perspective of labour history is scrutinised on both sides of the Atlantic, though the emphasis is given to European experiences. Themes examined include work and workplace activities, the working classes, masculinity and politics, and the timespan ranges from the eighteenth century to recent times.

This book seeks to understand the complex ways in which the Foreign Office adapted to the rise of identity politics in Britain as it administered British foreign policy during the Cold War and the end of the British Empire. After the Second World War, cultural changes in British society forced a reconsideration of erstwhile diplomatic archetypes, as restricting recruitment to white, heterosexual, upper- or middle-class men gradually became less socially acceptable and less politically expedient. After the advent of the tripartite school system and then mass university education, the Foreign Office had to consider recruiting candidates who were qualified but had not been ‘socialized’ in the public schools and Oxbridge. Similarly, the passage of the 1948 Nationality Act technically meant nonwhites were eligible to join. The rise of the gay rights movement and postwar women’s liberation both generated further, unique dilemmas for Foreign Office recruiters. Diplomatic Identity in Postwar Britain seeks to destabilize concepts like 'talent', 'merit', 'equality' and 'representation', arguing that these were contested ideas that were subject to political and cultural renegotiation and revision throughout the period in question.