German Industry and Global Enterprise: BASF: The History of a Company

Description

The corporate history of BASF spans an era of German and international economic history that began with the rise of the 'new industries' as of the late nineteenth century and continues today in their confrontation with the new economy. This book examines BASF's corporate governance, financial system, industrial relations, system of qualification and relation to other companies. A corporate history of BASF promises more than an insight into the functioning of an industrial organisation. It also reveals the reasons for the extraordinary economic dynamics of the German empire and the enormous expansion of the world economy before World War I. BASF's history stands at the centre of Germany's wartime economy during two world wars and highlights both its strengths and weaknesses. Just as the IG Farben trust helped support Germany's course of politicoeconomic autarky after 1933, so it was that BASF helped facilitate West Germany's startlingly quick return to the world market. BASF has since been among the transnational companies whose efforts at the leading edge of economic and technological progress are paradigmatic for Germany's entry into the new economy of the twenty-first century.

"The authors are to be congratulated on a well-integrated study presented in a handsomely produced book with valuable graphs, tables, and illustrations." Technology and Culture, Kenneth S. Mernitz "...the story that emerges from this volume is both scholarly and compelling, exposing the extensive detil of primary sources to further interpretation by informd and lay readers alike." Business History Review, Jeremy Leaman, Loughborough University, UK "Well-written and researched, this volume has excellent indices of archives, corporations, persons, products and processes, and subjects, as well as a full bibliography. This is a major contribution to business history and the history of modern Europe." Carl Strikwerda, The College of William and Mary, Journal of Social History "this comprehensive new history of BASF will serve as the basis for subsequent research on the firm. It offers a cornucopia of information concerning not only the company's internal structure, personalities, and technological initiatives but also the relatively inaccessible area of anticompetitive behavior." - Alfred C. Mierzejewski, University of North Texas "German Industry and Global Enterprise is informative. Business historians will certainly find it useful as a micro-study that provides insight into how this massive chemical concern developed and maintained a market for its goods for nearly a century and a half." - L. M. Stallbaumer-Beishline, Department of History, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, H-NET