Big Business: The European Experience in the Twentieth Century

Synopsis

This is a major comparative study of big business in the three dominant European nations across the twentieth-century. In particular the author looks at the character and performance of the major companies in each country at five 'snapshot' moments through the century. In so doing he offers a broad and sweeping analysis of European business amply supported by a wealth of empirical data. Cassis' view often challenges widely held assumptions about, for example, entrepreneurial failure in Britain; the relationship between big business and the Nazis in Germany; and the rebuilding of France in the post war period. To fill out his story Cassis looks closely at the role and character of the business elites in each country and their relationship with wider social and political developments. The book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the development of European business and the links between business practice and the wider social and political environment in each country.