The European Corporation – Strategy, Structure and Social Science

Citation

Taylor, J. (2001), "The European Corporation – Strategy, Structure and Social Science", European Business Review, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 313-316. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2001.13.5.313.1

This book is the fruit of an international project which received support from a variety of bodies in the UK, and which was researched in France, Germany and the UK. The result is a handsomely produced volume, with an exemplary array of the usual critical apparatus, including a comprehensive index. Case studies are illustrated by tables, graphs and diagrams. The work traces the evolution of the large industrial corporation over the last 50 years, affording a comparative study of France, Germany and the UK.

The authors aim to show the extent to which these developments in Europe conform to the model postulated by Alfred Chandler in 1962, thus challenging some more recent theories advanced by social scientists. However, the authors are careful to avoid a collision course with post‐modernist relativism, and do so by identifying recent aspects of corporate development – for example, diversification and the networked multi‐divisionals – as a broadening of the Chandlerian model, while at the same time recognising the limits of universalist theory.

The corporations examined cover a wide range, including (among others) Shell, ELF, British Steel, Krupp, Coats‐Viyella, Unilever, BMW and banks in France and Germany.

Obviously the work is fairly heavily theoretical but the extensive index makes for ease of navigation, and the theoretical points are illustrated by specific case studies. This volume which can easily be slipped into a briefcase is to be recommended to the business executive who wants to know “why” as well as “what”.