This paper provides a detailed analysis of the evolving relationship between the British trading company John Swire and Sons and its Chinese partners involved in the distribution of its products, notably sugar. From the nineteenth century, Swire had utilised the Chinese system of the Comprador....

This article traces the development of BAT's cigarette distribution network in China. It demonstrates that BAT utilised the connections that expatriate managing agencies had developed with Chinese merchants in the treaty port economy of Shangai during the late nineteenth century, and shows how...

This paper examines the use of consumer-driven innovation networks within the UK food-retailing industry using qualitative interview-based research analysed within an economic framework. This perspective revealed that, by exploiting information gathered directly from their customers at...

During the second half of the nineteenth century, foreign business enterprises relied considerably upon the service of compradors to extend their economic interests in the Chinese economy. Utilised initially to overcome the barriers presented by language difficulties, compradors were employed by...

This paper presents the results of research undertaken between 2002 and 2004 into the impact of technological change on the UK consumer magazine industry. The findings highlight patterns of innovation, both in the range of products (most notably monthly magazine titles) and the structure of...

This paper analyses the relationship between business performance, R&D expenditures and innovation output. It utilises the second Community Innovation Survey (CIS2), a large-scale survey into firms’ innovation activities conducted in the UK by the DTI. We matched up CIS2 with performance data...

This paper outlines the development of international firms over the period from 1870 to 1945. It shows how British and other European trading firms developed international investment operations using the medium of free-standing companies. This was the origin of Royal Dutch Shell amongst other...

We present an historic industry study of the consolidation of the UK alcoholic beverages firms to inform debates in organisation studies relating to co-evolution and the dynamics of internationalisation. We distinguish behavioural and structural co-evolutionary factors in firms’ strategic...