Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook

Open Access Published by Akademie Verlag

Volume 51 Issue 1

Issue of Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available June 1, 2010

Titelei

Page range: 1-4

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Publicly Available June 1, 2010

Abhandlungen und Studien

June 1, 2010

Einleitung

Stephanie Tilly, Dieter Ziegler

Page range: 11-18

Abstract

During the 1960s contemporary economists expected a tendency of satiation on the automobile markets in the western world for the near future. Competition would intensify and growth would be possible only for those car manufacturers who superseded their concern for production by market orientation. Business historians of the car industry have adopted this perception and turned it into the dualism buyer’s market and seller’s market. This article questions the appropriateness of this concept, and argues that while an increase in the importance of market orientation during the 1960s cannot be denied the attention to both production and marketing are key elements of modern business management.

June 1, 2010

Der Durchbruch des PKW zum Massenkonsumgut 1950-1964

Christopher Kopper

Page range: 19-36

Abstract

Until now, research on the breakthrough of mass motorization has neglected the importance of the used car market. Empirical evidence proves that the used car market had a significant impact on the growth of car ownership and the purchase of cars among white and blue-collar workers. The transparency and flexibility of the used car market, the lack of price regulation and the degressive curve of used car prices facilitated car ownership among medium income Germans as early as the late 1950s. German car manufacturers recognized the potential of the used car market for the promotion of new car sales, but adopted different market strategies. US companies like Opel and Ford changed their models frequently to promote the sale of new cars and to accelerate the obsolescence of older models, whereas Volkswagen followed the strategy of incremental changes in order to create a higher value for used cars and to generate an additional benefit for new car customers.

June 1, 2010

Vom ,Marketingloch‘ zur Wiederentdeckung der sportlichen Mittelklasse - vom Produktionsregime zur Marketingorientierung bei BMW

Florian Triebet

Page range: 37-64

Abstract

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) underwent a severe corporate crisis from 1954 onwards; at the climax of this crisis the company was almost sold to its competitor Daimler-Benz in a dramatic general assembly on December, 9th 1959 the plan was thwarted only by minor shareholders and dealer representatives. An analysis of BMW’s car business area during the 1950s using the 4 Ps of the classic marketing mix as a methodological framework, reveals a missing marketing orientation as the real cause of this severe crisis. Moreover, set in the context of the history of BMW’s car business in the 1930s and during the reconstruction after the crisis in the 1960s, the 1950s could be characterized as a singular and outstanding »marketing hole« in BMW’s history.

June 1, 2010

Finanzierung von Wiederaufbau und Expansion - Cashflows westdeutscher Automobilhersteller zwischen 1948-1960

Patrick Kresse

Page range: 65-88

Abstract

Prior research showed that in 1957, the German motor car industry provided 92 percent of its finance by internal ressources. This suggests a generally sound financial basis of German carmakers. However, the picture is misleading. The comparison of net cash flows of Volkswagen with that of BMW proves that corporate finance patterns among individual companies differed starkly. The reason for this was not only a different business policy but also the pre-1948 premises under which each company recommenced its production of cars. At Volkswagen, an assertive general director implemented a succesful economies of scale policy at a large industrial base that due to the historical circumstances was nearly free of cost of capital. On the other hand, BMW due to its substantial war and post-war damages as well as the market failure of its business policy had to rely on increasingly expensive debt. Against this background, Volkswagen was in a much better situation than BMW to benefit from the federal government’s stimulus to self-finance that was based on an expansive depreciation policy. As a result, Volkswagen financed nearly all of its capital expenditure with its operating cash flow, while BMW dragged to the edge of insolvency.

June 1, 2010

Italian Big Business and The Italian Automotive Industry. Fiat Internationalization in the Vittorio Valletta Era and its ongoing Reorganization (1946-1972)

Chiara Casalino

Page range: 89-106

Abstract

An international dimension has characterized the automotive industry since its origins, both as far as supply is concerned, where the car product results from the convergence of a series of multiple design innovations and continuous improvements in manufacturing processes, and as far as demand is concerned, given the narrowness of the home markets and the homogeneity of the buyers’ social peculiarities. One observation is particularly appropriate in the case of Italy: in the early twentieth century, Fiat was already making some two thirds of its turnover from sales on foreign markets and, absorbing more than 60 percent of vehicles produced in the twenties and again 3540 per cent at the end of the next decade, this proved to be the preferred outlet for its production. The research that this paper summarises is inspired by this statement and takes as the analysis target the adoption of the internationalization theme as a key to understanding and guiding the reconstruction of the history of the automotive industry, and the Fiat enterprise, who was the first in Italy to embrace a development model no longer based solely on import substitution, but on the willingness and ability to compete with companies in industrially advanced countries. Contextually, the monitoring of the temporal evolution of this process, emphasizing the years between the interwar period and the years of the economic boom, helped to expand the different meanings of the same concept of internationalization. The study of the first stage of Fiat’s international growth (§ 1) and of its foreign presence both in terms of the product and of foreign investments during Vittorio Valletta’s management (§ 2), is combined with the review of the reorganization and relaunching plans created in the immediate subsequent years (§ 3) in order to produce some final thoughts on the various stages of the major Italian car company′s internationalization process (§ 4).

June 1, 2010

“Small Car Blues” Die Produktpolitik US-amerikanischer und deutscher Automobilhersteller unter dem Einfluss umweltpolitischer Vorgaben, 1960-1980

Ingo Köhler

Page range: 107-136

Abstract

The future of the automobile lies in eco-friendly and fuel-efficient small cars. Nowadays, this prediction is considered to be an inevitable consequence of the costly shortage of fuel and the rising detrimental effects of motor traffic on the environment. But the debates are hardly new. In the context of the oil price crisis of the 1970s German and American carmakers were already massively criticised for their lack of innovative products in the small car segment. This essay deals with the different reasons for and effects of the Small Car Blues in the United States and Germany. Comparing the product strategies of carmakers in both countries it shows that the American Big Three were reluctant to adjust their product programmes for different reasons: First, the carmakers were bound in oligopolistic competition. Because of the high investments needed for entering the less profitable small car market, they considered a diversification too risky. Second, the producers were lacking the necessary know-how for producing small cars after having focused strongly on fullsizes and intermediates for years. Third, the American car buyers were much more accustomed to big, comfortable cars than Europeans. Even the technology forcing governmental obligations to enhance the fuel-efficiency and to reduce the exhaust emissions did not change their common reservations to-wards small cars. Given the obstacles from the demand as well as the supply side, it seemed to be the right strategy for the American manufacturers to continue to produce big cars. In Germany, however, the car makers revived the production of small and sub-medium-sized cars, building on a tradition of successful people cars that had briefly been suspended. Since the mid 1970s all major producers completed a downgrade of their model range and offered cars for each segment of buyers. Moving from a sellers’ to a buyers’ market, the manufacturers were not only much more adept in mass-producing small cars profitably. These car types were also socially more acceptable because only a few years ago they had made German mass motorization possible. In addition, governmental tax incentives encouraged the German customers to buy fuel-efficient small cars. The continuous demand in this segment of the market forced the carmakers to integrate small car offers back into their product programmes. Therefore, the Small Car Blues was just a short-term delay in the consumer-oriented adjustment of the German carmakers′ product strategies.

June 1, 2010

Das Zulieferproblem aus institutionenökonomischer Sicht. Die westdeutsche Automobil-Zulieferindustrie zwischen Produktionsund Marktorientierung (1960-1980)

Stephanie Tilly

Page range: 137-160

Abstract

The automotive supply industry represents an important segment of the automobile industry. As early as the 1960s it contributed a significant share of the latter′s total value-added, in spite of the fact that the suppliers were quite a distance away from the ultimate consumer. This article analyses the market behaviour of the auto-industry suppliers from the 1960s to the early 1980s and shows how the shift from a seller′s to a buyer’s market was reflected in the behaviour of the supplying industry. Starting from structural features of the supply business such as long-lasting business relationships with auto makers, mutual commitment, market power of the car manufacturers and sales policy-dependence of the suppliers it will be shown that many supplying firms were clearly production-oriented until the early 1980s. Little attention to sales within the firm, slack advertising activities, a focus on business conditions and relationship-fostering were typical features of sales-and-operation-practices in the supplying industry. This mirrored, as did the blurred profile of suppliers’ brands, the structural conditions of the supply business. Examination of the so-called replacement parts conflict in the 1970s, however, suggests that the half-hearted governance of the sales function among suppliers did not result simply from a conventional production-oriented management, but also from the self-interest of the automobile manufacturers, who obviously wished to remain in control of the ultimate consumer market. Nevertheless, some suppliers especially those with strong R&D capabilities succeeded in adapting a market-oriented business strategy, e.g. Peddinghaus as a troubleshooter for the car makers on the supply market or ABB with multi-stage marketing activities which directly reached the ultimate consumer market.

June 1, 2010

Die 1970er Jahre als „Sattelzeit“ im ostdeutschen Automobilbau

Reinhold Bauer

Page range: 161-172

Abstract

Scarcely any industrial product manufactured in the German Democratic Republic became as well known in the capitalist world as its private passenger motorcars. Private car ownership in East Germany was based on two car types that were produced for over 20 years with only minor changes being made to them in this period. Such long running consistency in models is not only surprising in comparison with western car manufacturers, but was also unique in the so-called eastern block. To explain the obvious innovation problems this article focuses on the development of the industry in the 1970s. This decade can be regarded as a transitional phase between a more or less innovative period in the sixties and a period of continuing decline thereafter. By examining the specific problems of the East German automobile industry the article also illustrates general deficiencies in the functioning of centrally planned economies and elucidates the general economic development of the GDR since the 1970s.

Diskussion

June 1, 2010

The Distribution of Personal Income in Prussia, 1852 to 1875: An Exploratory Study

Richard Tilly

Page range: 175-194

Abstract

This article describes the distribution of personal income in Prussia, Germany’s former largest state, in the period from 1851 to 1875 the classic phase of the German Take-off. Like its many forerunners, it is based on Prussian income tax data. Since these are available at the level of an intermediate administrative district, the Regierungsbezirke, the project of which this article is one part has both a temporal and spatial dimension. Here, however, the focus is aggregative and on change over time; the spatial dimension will be the subject of a subsequent paper. In contrast to most work on the German income distribution, which has focused on incomes at the top, this study reproduces the entire distribution from the bottom up. After a brief introduction, the paper discusses the historiography and historical background of the topic, turning then to presentation and evaluation of the statistical results. A brief summary concludes, followed by an appendix which explains estimating procedures.

June 1, 2010

Big Business im 20. Jahrhundert: Die 100 größten Arbeitgeber in Großbritannien und Deutschland in vergleichender Perspektive

Martin Fiedler, Howard Gospel

Page range: 195-212

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamics of large firms as measured by employment in the UK and Germany over the course of the twentieth century. The paper presents a comparative overview of the major trends in terms of size and composition. It then examines the dynamics of change in terms of entry, survival, and exit of large firms in both countries. The findings reveal both differences and similarities between the two countries. However, the analysis suggests that similarities are more striking in the long run.

Forschungs- und Literaturberichte

June 1, 2010

German Agricultural Employment, Production and Labour Productivity: A New Benchmark for 1936 and a Note on Hoffmann’s Tales

Rainer Fremdling

Page range: 215-228

Abstract

This paper focuses on agricultural performance in 1936 as part of a comprehensive project to (re)construct a new and reliable benchmark for revising German historical national accounts. The new estimates presented here confirm the poor agricultural performance of Germany compared with other developed economies. The new figures are even significantly lower than Hoffmann’s estimates: In particular, this is shown for key variables like gross and net value added and labour productivity. The benchmark year of 1936 is considered to be representative of the inter-war years. Consequently, once again my statement is confirmed that one should keep away from Hoffmann′s figures when discussing any aspect of economic failure of the Weimar Republic or economic recovery after Hitler came to power.

June 1, 2010

Soziale Ungleichheit im Spiegel des Konsums. Eine clusteranalytische Untersuchung zum differentiellen Konsum im Kaiserreich

Hendrik K. Fischer

Page range: 229-257

Abstract

The paper analyses consumer behaviour in different social classes in late 19th century Germany. Using a complete new database with 3,994 household budgets, it presents a new quantitative approach to answer the question how social stratification is reflected in different types of consumption. Unlike most previous attempts, the data set was not pre-classified first by some other attributes of social structure (such as occupation of the head of the household, income, etc.). Instead, the entire data set is classified and grouped by a cluster analysis of the households’ expenditure structures only. This approach has not been used for such a wide spectrum of society covering households of East-Prussian rural workers as well as the household of a Westphalian Count. Thus, the paper covers several new findings, e. g. a much wider variety of different consumption styles within working class households as traditionally assumed.

About this journal

Starting 2022, Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook will be transferred to Diamond Open Access on a year-by-year basis. All articles will thus immediately appear under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND. There will be no publication costs for the authors. The Open Access transformation is based on Subscribe-to-Open, an alternative model that enables the full Open Access transformation of journals through the continuation of existing subscriptions. The prerequisite for successful transformation is that subscriptions are continued to the same extent as before. The editors of Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook and the publisher De Gruyter would therefore like to thank all subscribers for their support, which has made the transformation to Open Access possible.

Since its foundation in 1960, the Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook has established itself as an internationally recognized journal of economic history with its own profile. This is particularly true since the journal's reorientation with regards to content and methodology after its refoundation in 1992 under an expanded editorial board.

The Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook is published semi-annually, each volume contains articles on a specific topic, reports and discussions on the current state of research and literature, and introduces new research projects. It is thus aimed not only at economic and social historians, but also at economists and social scientists as well as a broad circle of people interested in economic history. All submissions are subject to a double-blind peer review with at least two reviewers.

Volume 51 Issue 1

Issue of Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook

Titelei

Inhalt

Einleitung

Abstract

Der Durchbruch des PKW zum Massenkonsumgut 1950-1964

Abstract

Vom ,Marketingloch‘ zur Wiederentdeckung der sportlichen Mittelklasse - vom Produktionsregime zur Marketingorientierung bei BMW

Abstract

Finanzierung von Wiederaufbau und Expansion - Cashflows westdeutscher Automobilhersteller zwischen 1948-1960

Abstract

Italian Big Business and The Italian Automotive Industry. Fiat Internationalization in the Vittorio Valletta Era and its ongoing Reorganization (1946-1972)

Abstract

“Small Car Blues” Die Produktpolitik US-amerikanischer und deutscher Automobilhersteller unter dem Einfluss umweltpolitischer Vorgaben, 1960-1980

Abstract

Das Zulieferproblem aus institutionenökonomischer Sicht. Die westdeutsche Automobil-Zulieferindustrie zwischen Produktionsund Marktorientierung (1960-1980)

Abstract

Die 1970er Jahre als „Sattelzeit“ im ostdeutschen Automobilbau

Abstract

The Distribution of Personal Income in Prussia, 1852 to 1875: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Big Business im 20. Jahrhundert: Die 100 größten Arbeitgeber in Großbritannien und Deutschland in vergleichender Perspektive

Abstract

German Agricultural Employment, Production and Labour Productivity: A New Benchmark for 1936 and a Note on Hoffmann’s Tales

Abstract

Soziale Ungleichheit im Spiegel des Konsums. Eine clusteranalytische Untersuchung zum differentiellen Konsum im Kaiserreich

Abstract