1st Edition

Industrial Clusters and Regional Business Networks in England, 1750-1970

Edited By John Wilson, Andrew Popp Copyright 2003
300 Pages
by Routledge

300 Pages
by Routledge

300 Pages
by Routledge

Although economists have long recognised industrial districts as one of the key features of many economies, it is only recently that attention has been focused on the region as an effective means of generating accurate insights into the larger picture of economic performance. This renewed interest in regional issues has also placed at centre stage the role played by networks as a principal... Read more
Contents: Preface; Districts, networks and clusters in England: an introduction, John F. Wilson and Andrew Popp; An economic approach to regional business networks, M.C. Casson; The Manchester industrial district, 1750-1939: clustering, networking and performance, John F. Wilson and John Singleton; Networks, corporate governance and the decline of the Lancashire textile industry, 1860-1980, Steve Toms and Igor Filatotchev; Much ado about nothing? Regional business networks and the performance of the cotton and woollen textile industries, c.1919-1939, Sue Bowden and David Higgins; Banks, communities and manufacturing in West Yorkshire textiles, c.1800-1830, Steven Caunce; Capital networks in the Sheffield region, 1850-1885, Lucy Newton; Quaker networks and the industrial development of Darlington, 1780-1870, Gillian Cookson; The British glove industry 1750-1970: the advantages and vulnerability of a regional industry, Richard Coopey; 'Malefactors and honourable men': the making of commercial honesty in 19th century industrial Birmingham, Francesca Carnevali; Networks and industrial restructuring: the Widnes District and the formation of the United Alkali Company, 1890, Andrew Popp; Business networks, social habits and the evolution of a regional industrial cluster: Coventry 1880s-1930s, Roger Lloyd-Jones and M.J. Lewis; A false dawn? Military procurement and Manchester industrial district, 1935-1960, Till Geiger; Conclusion; Index.

Biography

John Wilson is Research Director of the University of Nottingham International Business History Institute. He has published widely in the fields of industrial and business history, including the only long-term study of British business history and studies of firms like Ferranti, BP-Amoco and English Electric. He is also editor of the Journal of Industrial History and co-edits the Manchester Region History Review. Andrew Popp is a Lecturer in The School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London. His publications include Business Structure, Business Culture and the Industrial District: The Potteries, 1850-1914 (Ashgate, 2001), as well as several business history articles.

'... this book should be welcomed by historians for the quality of the scholarship, the careful editorial policy, and the contribution to wider debates.' Albion 'This set of essays [...] provides a powerful correctlve to much of the received wisdom concerning the historical role of networks and clustering in British economic development.' Enterprise & Society