Aufsaetze (Articles):

· Jochen Streb: Moeglichkeiten und Grenzen der Schumpeterschen Diversifizierung.

· Die Entwicklung der Firma Freudenberg & Co. Weinheim vom spezialisierten Ledererzeuger zum Kunststoffverarbeiter mit breiter Angebotspalette, S. 131 - 159

· Morten Reitmayer: Fuehrungsstile und Unternehmensstrategien deutscher Grossbanken vor 1914, S. 160 - 181

· Harm G. Schroeter: Die Auslandsinvestitionen der deutschen chemischen Industrie 1930 bis 1965, S. 182 - 197

· Susanne Hilger: Zwischen Demontage und Wiederaufbau. Unternehmen und alliierte Besatzungspolitik nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg am Beispiel der Firma Henkel, Duesseldorf, S. 198 - 220

· Sandra Hartig: Von der "Tradition" zur Innovation. Die Gruendung der Gesellschaft fuer Unternehmensgeschichte, S. 221 - 236

· Dieter Spethmann: Begegnung mit einer juengeren Ansicht ueber die Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, S. 237 - 241

Abstracts:

Jochen Streb
Moeglichkeiten und Grenzen der Schumpeterschen Diversifizierung. Die Entwicklung der Firma Freudenberg & Co. Weinheim vom spezialisierten Ledererzeuger zum Kunststoffverarbeiter mit breiter Angebotspalette.

Recent studies seem to indicate that previously specialized firms are able to increase their long-term growth by realizing economies of scope from diversifying into markets in the technological and economic neighborhood of their established products. This plan is especially promising if the firms will enter the new markets not offering just another imitation but an innovative good. This strategy is called Schumpeterian diversification. Analyzing the economic development of the German firm Freudenberg & Co which changed from a specialized tannery to a diversified plastics fabricator in the 20th century we will try to identify the necessary preconditions for Schumpeterian diversification. It will turn out that among other things Freudenberg has built up communication networks with information brokers and other firms to get innovative knowledge. Moreover this firm has been able to utilize already existing sales, channels and brand names for marketing new products.

Morten Reitmayer
Fuehrungsstile und Unternehmensstrategien deutscher Grossbanken vor 1914.

The article examines the style of management and corporate strategies of the four largest German joint-stock banks until 1914. Discussing different concepts of corporate culture, the author advocates the French concept of economic and social fields as a methodological framework. Thus, the relation-ship between the competition of universal banks within the fields of high finance, different ways of recruiting their management and the entrepreneurial attitudes of top managers gave the setting for varying corporate strategies of each bank.

Harm G. Schroeter
Die Auslandsinvestitionen der deutschen chemischen Industrie 1930 bis 1965.

This contributions builds upon a similar one published in this journal 10 yeras ago; in both cases only producing establishments were counted (all fdi would at least tenfold the figures). Though faced with a second expropiation of its foreign direct investment (1918 and 1945) German chemical industry did not held back in investing abroad again. Thus it achieved the remarkable number of (at least) 189 producing units abroad in 1965. The geographical destination changed profoundly compared 1930 and 1960. Since Europe was thought to recover only with difficulties, fdi was allocated primarily in perceived growth-regions such as Latin America, or the Middle East. This was changed to the benefit of Europe at the end of our period. As before, the strong sectors of German chemical industry (e.g. dyestuffs) were the first to invest, however, followed closely by new growth sectors such as plastics and fibres.

Susanne Hilger

Zwischen Demontage und Wiederaufbau. Unternehmen und alliierte Besatzungspolitik nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg am Beispiel der Firma Henkel, Duesseldorf.

Dismantlement, decartelization and denazification - these keywords seem to outline the allied policies in Germany after the Second World War. By this Germany's war and armament potential was to be dismantled completely, whereas the rest of the industries was controlled and limited to the level of a peace economy with a low demand coverage. Yet, in the meantime the affiliation to different political powers strongly influenced the economic development in both parts of Germany. Whereas in the eastern part a socialistic planned economy was implemented in the "GDR", the allied occupation policy in West Germany in the long run contributed to the modernisation of industry und thus paved the way for the rise of the West German economy from the 1950s onwards. Focussing on the Westgerman chemical producer Henkel ("Persil") the following article deals with the operation of the allied occupation policy to give new insights into the genesis of the West German Wirtschaftswunder" on the basis of a microeconomic perspective.

Sandra Hartig

Von der "Tradition zur Innovation. Die Gruendung der Gesellschaft fuer Unternehmensgeschichte.

On June 10, 2001, the Gesellschaft fuer Unternehmensgeschichte (GUG) celebrated its 25th anniversary. This article describes the prolonged and controversial process of the foundation of this society taking into account North's concept of "mental constructs". The fact that the foundation was successful is due to the efforts of few people who persistently held to their idea to both further business history as an academic discipline and to create consciousness within companies about the importance of business history for the development of a corporate culture.

Buchbesprechungen

· Paul Erker / Toni Pierenkemper (Hrsg.), Deutsche Unternehmer zwischen Kriegswirtschaft und Wiederaufbau. Studien zur Erfahrungsbildung von Industrie-Eliten (Werner Buehrer)

· Karl Lauschke, Die Hoesch-Arbeiter und ihr Werk. Sozialgeschichte der Dortmunder Westfalenhuette waehrend der Jahre des Wiederaufbaus 1945-1966 (Gerd Hardach)

· Manfred Pohl, Philipp Holzmann. Geschichte eines Bauunternehmens 1849 - 1999 (Harald Wixforth)

· Morten Reitmayer, Bankiers im Kaiserreich. Sozialprofil und Habitus der deutschen Hochfinanz (Ingo Koehler)

· Christoph Buchheim / Redvers Garside (Hrsg.), After the Slump. Industry and Politics in 1930s Britain and Germany (Richard Tilly)

· Richard Sylla/Richard Tilly, Gabriel Tortella (Hrsg.), The State, the Financial System and Economic Modernization (Jonas Scherner)

· Ulrich Marsch, Zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft. Industrieforschung in Deutschland und Grossbritannien 1880-1936 (Paul Erker)

· Peter Kirchberg, Plaste, Blech und Planwirtschaft. Die Geschichte des Automobilbaus in der DDR (Juergen Schmaedicke)