There has been considerable and ongoing debate about the performance of the British economy since 1945. Empirical studies have concentrated on aggregate or industry level indicators. Few have examined individual firms' financial performance. This study takes a sample of c.3000 firms in 19...

The essay provides a review of Alfred Chandler's contribution to the theory of the firm in his three main works: Strategy and Structure (1962), The Visible Hand (1977) and Scale and Scope (1990). Focusing on the economic components of Chandler's analysis, it examines linkages to subsequent...

Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; PART I: The discipline of business history; 1 Introduction; 2 Business history: Agendas, historiography and debates; 3 A revisionist historiography of business history: A richer past for...