Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg

Volume 67 Issue 2

Issue of Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available September 15, 2022

Aufsätze (Articles)

Open Access September 15, 2022

Introduction

State enterprises in Africa: a postcolonial history

Alexander Keese, Marie Huber

Page range: 167-187

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September 15, 2022

Finance, Investment and Decolonisation in Nigeria

Early market formation and participation on the Lagos Stock Exchange, 1957–1967

Mariusz Lukasiewicz

Page range: 189-217

Abstract

Given the relative scarcity of capital and the small volume of savings in most African economies at independence, the establishment of stock exchanges and their regulation showed that several countries considered them as strategic financial intermediaries for channelling capital to their national, and even regional, economies. This article examines the Lagos Stock Exchange’s formative years as a political process of Nigeria’s decolonisation and the First Republic. Originally incorporated as a private limited liability company on 15 September 1960, and as the first stock exchange in West Africa and the region’s largest economy, the new financial intermediary defined the relationship between the post-independence state and the growing capital market during a period of considerable political and economic changes. The role of the post-independence state and state-owned enterprises in facilitating the trade on the Lagos Stock Exchange broadens the analytical scope of this investigation to identify the sources of Nigeria’s development finance. While significant efforts were taken to grow private individual participation in the share trade and ownership, the early years of the Lagos Stock Exchange were ultimately marked by the dominance of institutional investors such as state-owned enterprises and private commercial banks.

September 15, 2022

Modernising the village

State farms, agricultural development, and nation-building in 1960s Ghana

Sarah Kunkel

Page range: 219-244

Abstract

This article analyses the development of state-controlled farms in Ghana in the 1960s. To boost the economy of the new nation, Nkrumah focused on agricultural development for the export and domestic markets to increase national revenue but also availability of affordable foodstuffs through state farms and co-operative farms. These farms became rural sites of modernisation, as modern and mechanised agricultural farming methods were implemented. Farm machinery and vehicles were visible and tangible signs of progress and modernity. This in combination with the unprecedented employment opportunities on state-controlled farms created support for Nkrumah in rural areas, thereby fostering state-society relations. The article is specifically interested in state-led post-independence agricultural modernisation, and contributes a rural perspective on processes of decolonisation, rural nation-building, and the transition to socialism.

September 15, 2022

State and market

SOEs in Africa since the opening of markets, 1990s–2015

Grietjie Verhoef

Page range: 245-269

Abstract

Despite the general demise of the phenomenon of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Europe since the 1970s, SOEs remained central to state economic planning in African markets after independence. Weak performance of African SOEs since the 1960s, mitigated reforms and some privatisation. The opening up of markets in Africa and states’ alignment to the market economic model, contributed to a different approach to the managing and operation of SOEs. The UNCTAD list of top non-financial conglomerates in the developing world includes two African SOEs. The lack of capital, access to modern technology and professional managerial skills (human capabilities), hampered the development of national economies in Africa. The state has re-entered the market in a different role as facilitator of private enterprise, but also as entrepreneur in strategic industries. Global resurgence of SOEs in the 21 st century witnessed a new generation global SOEs, also in some African cases. This paper will assess the development of the «new generation» SOEs in Africa since the last decade of the 20 th century using the case study of Sonatrach in Algeria.

September 15, 2022

State-owned success in the air

Ethiopian Airlines and the multinational Air Afrique in the 1960s and 1970s

Marie Huber

Page range: 271-292

Abstract

African Airlines are not commonly associated with success, rather they recall instances of bad management, security concerns, and outdated machinery. This paper focuses on the success of two airlines during the first two postcolonial decades in Africa. During this time, the new national airlines of African states were important symbols of sovereignty, as well as providing crucial mobility for politicians and experts of all kinds. Addressing a gap in the literature on aviation in Africa on the one hand, and the research on state-owned enterprises on the other, the paper takes a closer look at expectation formation and management decisions regarding fleet modernisation and maintenance, as well as Africanisation politics in both enterprises. Contrary to blanket statements that refer to ideological goals as a reason for the failure of African state-owned enterprise, the political goal of independence made Africanisation of staff and the acquisition of company-owned equipment and facilities a priority. Using archival sources, company publications, and observations of contemporaries, it can be shown that through taking advantage of entangled interests of governments and the aviation industry, the two African airlines managed to break into the global air transport market at the beginning of the 1960s and stayed competitive for many years.

Rezensionen (Reviews)

September 15, 2022

Frederic Steinfeld, Das quantifizierte Unternehmen. Rechnungswesen, Bilanzierung und Entscheidungen in der deutschen chemischen Industrie, 1863–1916, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston 2021, 416 S., € 74,95.

Alexander Donges

Page range: 293-295

September 15, 2022

Christian Marx/Morten Reitmayer (Hrsg.), Gewinner und Verlierer nach dem Boom. Perspektiven auf die westeuropäische Zeitgeschichte, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2020, 228 S., € 60,00.

Benedikt Brunner

Page range: 295-297

September 15, 2022

Ariane Wessel, Ökonomischer Wandel als Aufstiegschance. Jüdische Getreidehändler an der Berliner Produktenbörse 1860–1914, Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2020, 296 S., € 32,00.

Benedikt Brunner

Page range: 297-299

September 15, 2022

Christian Kleinschmidt/Jan Logemann (Hrsg.), Konsum im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Boston/Berlin 2021, 667 S., € 49,95.

Jonathan Voges

Page range: 299-301

September 15, 2022

Oliver Götze/Ursula Bartelsheim/Janina Baur (Hrsg.), Design & Bahn. Eine Gestaltungsgeschichte, Prestel Verlag, München 2021, 272 S., € 29,00.

Kilian Steiner

Page range: 301-302

September 15, 2022

Teresa Brandt, Paradoxien der Unternehmensgeschichtsschreibung. Wissenschaftliche Arbeit zwischen Berufshabitus und sozialer Abhängigkeit, transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2021, 280 S., € 45,00.

Alfred Reckendrees

Page range: 303-306

September 15, 2022

Kristina Huttenlocher, Menschen in der Fabrik. Industriefotografie in Konsumgüterfirmen 1895 bis 1970. Appel, Bahlsen, Sprengel, König & Ebhardt, Pelikan, Continental und andere, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston 2022, 186 S., € 29,95.

Ralf Stremmel

Page range: 306-308

September 15, 2022

Max Chafkin, Peter Thiel. Wie der Pate des Silicon Valley die Welt beherrscht, Finanzbuch Verlag, München 2022, 384 S., € 22,00.

Werner Bührer

Page range: 308-310

Zur Rezension in der Geschäftsstelle eingegangene Bücher

September 15, 2022

Zur Rezension in der Geschäftsstelle eingegangene Bücher

Page range: 311-313

Mitteilung (information)

September 15, 2022

Preis für Unternehmensgeschichte Ausschreibung 2023

Page range: 315-315

About this journal

The Journal of Business History addresses all facets of business history, taking a broad approach that encompasses neighboring disciplines, international developments, and an expanded definition of the firm. In order to publish first-class research that actively engages with companies, the economy, and the political sector, the journal solicits contributions from promising authors around the globe. Articles are accepted in German or English. All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review.

Submit your manuscript here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/zug

Volume 67 Issue 2

Issue of Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte

Titelseiten

Introduction

State enterprises in Africa: a postcolonial history

Finance, Investment and Decolonisation in Nigeria

Early market formation and participation on the Lagos Stock Exchange, 1957–1967

Abstract

Modernising the village

State farms, agricultural development, and nation-building in 1960s Ghana

Abstract

State and market

SOEs in Africa since the opening of markets, 1990s–2015

Abstract

State-owned success in the air

Ethiopian Airlines and the multinational Air Afrique in the 1960s and 1970s

Abstract

Frederic Steinfeld, Das quantifizierte Unternehmen. Rechnungswesen, Bilanzierung und Entscheidungen in der deutschen chemischen Industrie, 1863–1916, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston 2021, 416 S., € 74,95.

Christian Marx/Morten Reitmayer (Hrsg.), Gewinner und Verlierer nach dem Boom. Perspektiven auf die westeuropäische Zeitgeschichte, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2020, 228 S., € 60,00.

Ariane Wessel, Ökonomischer Wandel als Aufstiegschance. Jüdische Getreidehändler an der Berliner Produktenbörse 1860–1914, Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2020, 296 S., € 32,00.

Christian Kleinschmidt/Jan Logemann (Hrsg.), Konsum im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Boston/Berlin 2021, 667 S., € 49,95.

Oliver Götze/Ursula Bartelsheim/Janina Baur (Hrsg.), Design & Bahn. Eine Gestaltungsgeschichte, Prestel Verlag, München 2021, 272 S., € 29,00.

Teresa Brandt, Paradoxien der Unternehmensgeschichtsschreibung. Wissenschaftliche Arbeit zwischen Berufshabitus und sozialer Abhängigkeit, transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2021, 280 S., € 45,00.

Kristina Huttenlocher, Menschen in der Fabrik. Industriefotografie in Konsumgüterfirmen 1895 bis 1970. Appel, Bahlsen, Sprengel, König & Ebhardt, Pelikan, Continental und andere, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston 2022, 186 S., € 29,95.

Max Chafkin, Peter Thiel. Wie der Pate des Silicon Valley die Welt beherrscht, Finanzbuch Verlag, München 2022, 384 S., € 22,00.

Zur Rezension in der Geschäftsstelle eingegangene Bücher

Preis für Unternehmensgeschichte Ausschreibung 2023