Volume 67, Issue 1

In the context of the internationalisation and globalisation of the economy, special economic zones are playing an increasingly important role. The economic-historical evaluation of these special economic zones is controversially discussed and fluctuates between a «neo-colonialist exploitation of the Global South» based on low wages and poor working conditions as well as the exploitation of tax havens on the one hand and the emphasis on economic development potentials in these countries on the other. Using the non-representative corporate history case study of the medical technology manufacturer Sartorius, the aim is to ask, based on the motives, expectations and decision-making processes of a company in a specific economic-historical situation between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, what significance the special economic zone of Puerto Rico had for corporate strategy in this phase. It will be shown that the corporate development and growth of Sartorius at the Goettingen location reached its limits during this period and that alternative investment opportunities were sought, which were found primarily in the world’s largest market for its products: the US market. High customs duties and transport costs ultimately led to considerations of direct investment on the American continent, whereby the investment incentives in the US special economic zone of Puerto Rico, supported by government subsidy programmes of the Federal Republic, offered considerably more advantages than on the mainland. In the case of Sartorius, with regard to the Puerto Rico Special Economic Zone, it is less about the exploitation of «neocolonial exploitation mechanisms» in a region of the Global South than about the use of Puerto Rican as well as Federal Republic investment incentives, which also offered development potential for Puerto Rico itself. Der Beitrag entstand im Kontext der Publikation Sartorius 1870–2020 , von Hartmut Berghoff, Christian Kleinschmidt, Stephan H. Lindner, Luitgard Marshall, München 2021. Die spezifische Frage zur Rolle von Puerto Rico im Rahmen der Unternehmensstrategie Sartorius’ konnte dort nur knapp angerissen und nicht in seiner ganzen Komplexität dargestellt werden (135–137) und wird hier ausführlich und quellenbasiert diskutiert.

We estimate two components of stock market liquidity, namely trading costs and trading volume, for the Berlin Stock Exchange, 1892–1913. Our three trading cost indicators are highly correlated with each other. To estimate trading volume, we use turnover tax revenues and turnover data from the Berliner Kassenverein. We use information on stock exchange turnover taxes collected in Berlin and we have compiled monthly data. We show that the three indicators of trading volume are highly correlated.

The Bayer AG was cut off from the quinine world trade by the quinine cartel, existing mainly of Great Britain, France and Netherlands, during the Great War. Being unable to purchase ingredients to produce malaria drug Bayer decided to develop synthetic active ingredients to treat malaria patients. This was an innovative approach to the malaria problem by Bayer’s research department accompanied with an organizational change. This paper analyzes the international cooperation of the Bayer tropical medicine department in the 1920s and 1930s with regard to the development of test fields and sales markets for the synthetic antimalarial agents. How and why did the tropical medicine research department develop into a significant international player with innovative products? How did the tension between international research cooperation and commercial exploitation change? What role did the particular political circumstances and their change play in the transformation of cooperation and the development of markets? By answering these questions, this paper demonstrates that Bayer quite successfully pursued an innovation-based strategy of market development, which aimed at convincing the international scientific community and generating international prestige. Nevertheless, the Italian demand and the specific interests of Italian malaria research – low cost domestic supply of antimalarial drugs, colonial expansionism, and international influence – were crucial door openers for the breakthrough on the international market.

The article examines the careers of the ten chairmen of the Board of Directors (CEOs) of the pioneer enterprise Mannesmann from its founding in 1890 to its takeover and dismantling by Vodafone in 2000. The company, which was originally founded to use a revolutionary invention for the production of seamless steel tubes from a solid block of steel alone by rolling, developed into an integrated vertical organized mining group of Ruhr-typical character due to reasons of market organization. As the first mining enterprise it diversified to a technology group after World War II and created a new basis as the first private provider of telecommunications services in the 1990s. Among other things, the chairmen of the Board of Directors (CEOs) were enquired about their regional and family origins, their educational background, their professional training and career, and about their specific reasons for joining Mannesmann. Finally, the article analyses the age at which this occurred, and how the rise to the top of the company took place. Particular attention is paid to their work as executives in a team as the essential basis for success and failure.<fnote>Mit Anmerkungen versehene und ergänzte Fassung eines Vortrags, gehalten anlässlich des 44. Wissenschaftlichen Symposiums der GUG «Karriere von Führungskräften innerhalb und außerhalb von Organisationen», Stuttgart 21./22. Oktober 2021.</fnote>

This article examines the working conditions of young business historians in Europe, looking at both the demand and the supply side of the junior job market. It is based on responses to a questionnaire submitted to all the participants in the European Business History Association (EBHA) Doctoral Summer School, and on a database of the positions offered in BH (or related fields) from 2016 up to 2020. The analysis brings to light several problems connected with the precariousness of the job market and the shortage of opportunities. Even so, young scholars’ job satisfaction is generally high overall, though less so in Southern Europe.