Aufsätze (Articles):

Werner Plumpe, Wie entscheiden Unternehmen?, S. 141–159

Kerstin Hoffmann, Spielende Manager. Unternehmensplanspiele in bundesdeutschen Unternehmen in den 1960er und 70er Jahren, S. 160–189

Simon Tywuschick, Eine vergleichende Analyse des betrieblichen Umweltschutzes in der deutschen Chemie- und Automobilindustrie zwischen 1960 und 2005, S. 190–214

Klaus Dittrich, Selling Luxembourgian Steel in Japan: Columeta Tokyo, 1925 to 1941 Introduction, S. 215–236

ABSTRACTS:

Werner Plumpe
Wie entscheiden Unternehmen?
How do corporations decide? Decisions within firms are mainly analyzed on the basis of a right/wrong scheme and evaluated accordingly. This essay shows that such a view is too simple, since firms have to make decisions without being able to know the importance of a particular decision in advance. Decision-makers have to bear this fact in mind and have to cope with it, as an incapacity of making decisions has to be avoided under all circumstances. How those facts influence day-to-day business is shown conceptually as well as by means of an example.

Kerstin Hoffmann
Spielende Manager. Unternehmensplanspiele in bundesdeutschen Unternehmen in den 1960er und 70er Jahren
Playing Managers. Management games in West German companies during the 1960s and 70s
In the 1950s, management games have emerged and were established as an attractive training method for economic executives in the USA. In the following decades, this new method reached the German-speaking countries. How business simulation games found their way into the management trainings of German companies is scientifically not examined so far. Therefore this article tries to give a comprehensive overview of the early history of management games in West Germany and shows which business simulation games were used by which companies. The question if and how management games are associated with organizational changes in large German enterprises in the 60s is of particular interest. The article provides a brief overview of the context in which management games emerged and examines how they got transferred from the USA to West German companies. There are mainly two ways of transfer that can be identified. While com panies like Hoechst, Bosch, Siemens, Kaufhof or the Dresdner Bank developed their own games – specialized on their business needs –, others simply bought universal games from external providers or sent their executives to so called management schools which used these kinds of games in their trainings. The essay also takes a look at the role and impact of management games in German companies. It shows that business simulation games were developed specifically to introduce executives to new tasks and structural changes that arose in the context of organizational changes in the 60s.

Simon Tywuschick
Eine vergleichende Analyse des betrieblichen Umweltschutzes in der deutschen Chemie- und Automobilindustrie zwischen 1960 und 2005
A comparative analysis of corporate environmental protection within the German chemical and automobile industry between 1960 and 2005
This paper looks into the evolution of corporate environmentalism in two German industries over a period of more than 40 years. The theoretical framework of this longitudinal comparison is drawn from the findings of the New Institutional Economics. The evidence from the quantitative and qualitative archival data analysis indicates that corporate environmentalism passed a historic peak at the beginning of the 1990s in the German chemical industry while being a time-invariant niche in the automotive industry. Coercive regulatory forces are identified as the core element in the explanation for the evolution of corporate environmentalism. Moreover, the data shows that societal pressure seems to be sector-specific rather than a linear function over time. The article contributes to the literature on social and environmental responsibility by deepening the understanding of the ups and downs of corporate attention to environmental issues.

Klaus Dittrich
Selling Luxembourgian Steel in Japan: Columeta Tokyo, 1925 to 1941 Introduction
Under the auspices of Arbed (Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange, established in 1911), the steel industry developed into the dominant economic sector of Luxembourg. After the First World War, the Grand-Duchy left the Germanic Zollverein and the country’s economic repositioning engendered an embrace of new global markets. In order to better promote its products, Arbed established the sales organization Columeta (Comptoir métallurgique luxembourgeois). This article discusses the Columeta representation in Japan – Columeta Tokyo, founded in 1925 –, providing insight into the cultural mechanics of a European company in Japan during the interwar period. Whereas business went well during the 1920s, the situation became more difficult during the 30s, due to the world economic crisis, the rise of Japanese steel production and increasingly protectionist economic policies. Focusing on trade between Europe and East Asia, this paper contributes to debates on (de)globalisation during the 20s and 30s.

Buchbesprechungen (Reviews):

Tim Schanetzky, Regierungsunternehmer. Henry J. Kaiser, Friedrich Flick und die Staatskonjunkturen in den USA und Deutschland (Werner Bührer)

Thomas Urban, Zwangsarbeit bei Thyssen. «Stahlverein» und «Baron-Konzern» im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Familie – Unternehmen – Öffentlichkeit: Thyssen im 20. Jahrhundert) (Matthias Gomoll)

Uwe Werner, Das Unternehmen Weleda 1921–1945. Entstehung und Pionierzeit eines menschengemäßen und nachhaltig ökologischen Unternehmens (Jonathan Voges)

Dieter Ziegler/Jörg Lesczenski/Johannes Bähr (Hrsg.), Vertrauensbildung als Auftrag: von der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Treuhand-Gesellschaft zur KPMG AG (Christopher Kobrak)

Thomas Fenner, Flaggschiff Nescafé. Nestlés Aufstieg zum größten Lebensmittelkonzern der Welt (Jonathan Voges)

Karl-Wilhelm Vordemfelde, Aufstieg und Niedergang der deutschen Herrenbekleidungsindustrie. Ein Rückblick auf Herrenmode aus Deutschland im 20. Jahrhundert (Jonathan Voges)

Bernhard Fischer, Johann Friedrich Cotta. Verleger – Entrepreneur – Politiker (Uwe Fliegauf)

Kornelia Rennert, Wettbewerber in einer Branche. Die Unternehmensstrategien von Thyssen, Hoesch und Mannesmann 1955 bis 1975 (Uwe Fliegauf)

Marcel Boldorf, Governance in der Planwirtschaft. Industrielle Führungskräfte in der Stahl- und Textilbranche der SBZ/DDR (1945–1958) (Armin Müller)

Wolf-Ingo Seidelmann, «Eisen schaffen für das kämpfende Heer!». Die Doggererz AG – ein Beitrag der Otto-Wolff-Gruppe und der saarländischen Stahlindustrie zur nationalsozialistischen Autarkie- und Rüstungspolitik auf der badischen Baar (Uwe Fliegauf)

Marco Veronesi, Oberdeutsche Kaufleute in Genua, 1350–1490. Institutionen, Strategien, Kollektive (Thomas Hermann)

Larry Neal/Jeffrey G. Williamson (Hrsg.), The Cambridge History of Capitalism (Jan-Otmar Hesse)

Ralph Jessen (Hg.), Konkurrenz in der Geschichte: Praktiken – Werte – Institutionalisierungen (Holm Arno Leonhardt)

Matthew Anderson, A History of Fair Trade in Contemporary Britain. From Civil Society Campaigns to Corporate Compliance (Andrea Franc)

Dieter Ziegler (Hg.), Wirtschaftliche Verflechtungen Ostmittel- und Südosteuropas im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert/Economic Entanglements of East Central and Southeast Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Andreas Resch)

Thomas Welskopp, Unternehmen Praxisgeschichte – Historische Perspektiven auf Kapitalismus, Arbeit und Klassengesellschaft (Dorothea Schmidt)

Stefan Scholl, Begrenzte Abhängigkeit. ‹Wirtschaft› und ‹Politik› im 20. Jahrhundert (Werner Bührer)