Despite the publication of several studies examining European retailing in relation to the USA, there is still a dearth of recent research, in English, that explores the development of retailing in specific European countries (with the obvious exception of Britain), over the twentieth century. Even for the UK, more research is needed to challenge claims such as the alleged "backwardness" of British retailing relative to North America, or the presence of formidable "environmental" barriers to the "industrialisation" of retailing in Britain. New Perspectives on 20th Century European Retailing showcases new research on various aspects of twentieth century European retailing, that challenges the traditional view that Europe was a "follower" of America in retail innovation. It brings together work by several - mainly early career - scholars, who are doing innovative, archival-based, research on various aspects of European retail history. Following a general review of European retailing by the editors (discussing key debates and new approaches) seven thematic chapters present work that either sheds new light on old debates and/or explores hitherto neglected topics. Collectively, they show that whereas retailers are often regarded as ‘intermediaries’, in fact they are actors in their own right and they challenge the traditional view that Europe was a "follower" of America in retail innovation. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Business History journal.

Despite the publication of several studies examining European retailing in relation to the USA, there is still a dearth of recent research, in English, that explores the development of retailing in specific European countries (with the obvious exception of Britain), over the twentieth century. Even for the UK, more research is needed to challenge claims such as the alleged "backwardness" of British retailing relative to North America, or the presence of formidable "environmental" barriers to the "industrialisation" of retailing in Britain. New Perspectives on 20th Century European Retailing showcases new research on various aspects of twentieth century European retailing, that challenges the traditional view that Europe was a "follower" of America in retail innovation. It brings together work by several - mainly early career - scholars, who are doing innovative, archival-based, research on various aspects of European retail history. Following a general review of European retailing by the editors (discussing key debates and new approaches) seven thematic chapters present work that either sheds new light on old debates and/or explores hitherto neglected topics. Collectively, they show that whereas retailers are often regarded as 'intermediaries', in fact they are actors in their own right and they challenge the traditional view that Europe was a "follower" of America in retail innovation. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Business History journal.

This book provides historical, theoretical, and biographical perspectives on two giants of contemporary economics, Jacques Rueff (1896-1978) and John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). The former French bureaucrat and academician championed classical economics; the latter British economist founded macro-economics criticizing the classical school. Depending upon archival sources, including personal correspondences between the above two figures, the book describes furious debates between them and surrounding them. In fact, the two economists proposed contrasting diagnosis over almost every event in contemporary world economy: the reparations problem, the Great Depression, the gold exchange standard, and the Bretton Wood System. Keynes appraised managed currency to cope with unemployment, criticizing the classical gold standard; Rueff believed the function of market mechanism, blaming the state intervention. The book highlights deep influence of Rueff, rather larger than Keynes, in Europe before and after WWII. The perspective of the book reaches today’s economic issues. The classical view of Rueff was shared in Mont Pelerin Society, a cradle of neo-liberalism. Rueff’s market-friendly view paved way to the neo-liberal reforms which took place after the 1980s. The classical market theory of Rueff, together with dialogues with the labor unions, prepared the social background of the European Union. This book thus reveals the truth of liberal economy, from the 20th to 21st centuries.

Business history needs a shake-up, Philip Scranton and Patrick Fridenson argue, as many businesses go global and cultural contexts become critical. "Reimagining Business History" prods practitioners to take new approaches to entrepreneurial intentions, company scale, corporate strategies, local infrastructure, employee well-being, use of resources, and long-term environmental consequences.

During the past half century, the history of American business became an unusually active and rewarding field of scholarship, partly because of the primacy of postwar American capital, at home and abroad, and the rise of a consumer culture but also because of the theoretical originality of Alfred D. Chandler. In a field long given over to banal company histories and biographies of tycoons, Chandler took the subject seriously enough to ask about the large patterns and causes of corporate success. Chandler and his students found the richest material for theorizing about the course of business history in large companies and their institutional structures and cultures. Meantime, Scranton and others found smaller firms, those specializing in batch work as opposed to mass-produced goods, far closer to the norm and more telling.

Scranton and Fridenson believe that the time has come for a sweeping rethinking of the field, its materials, and the kinds of questions its practitioners should be asking. How can this field develop in an age of global markets, growing information technology, and diminishing resources? A transnational collaboration between two senior scholars, "Reimagining Business History" offers direction in forty-four short, pithy essays.

During World War I, French citizens accepted national union on the home front as a necessary act of self-defence, but not without a considerable degree of ambivalence. At the political level, the union altered the balance of forces by improving the position of the Right, destroying the identity of the Radical party and creating the means by which the Socialist party first had access to power. However, what makes this collection of articles important is that they illustrate the social and political impact of French citizens' acceptance of a national union during World War I as well as dealing with the industrial aspects of French wartime history.

In this exceptional study, the author goes beyond the sphere of party politics to explore the industrial aspects of French wartime history. During the First World War, French citizens accepted national union on the home front as a necessary act of self-defence, but not without a considerable degree of ambivalence. At the political level, this union altered the balance of forces by improving the position of the Right, destroying the identity of the Radical party and creating the means by which the Socialist party first had access to power. However, what makes this study exceptionally important is that beyond the sphere of party politics it also deals with the industrial aspects of French wartime history. Industrial mobilisation was the force behind the union sacree, but it also concealed deep conflicts of interest. While businessmen developed large corporations, new industries and scientific management, and reulctantly cooperated with an ever-expanding state, rank-and-file workers accepted concepts of productivism but rejected the sacrifices imposed upon them. Their complaints eventually surfaced in the form of open resistance. The subsequent attempt on the part of management to repress the worker's movement led to a stalemate on the home front at the end of the war.

Business history needs a shake-up, Philip Scranton and Patrick Fridenson argue, as many businesses go global and cultural contexts become critical. "Reimagining Business History" prods practitioners to take new approaches to entrepreneurial intentions, company scale, corporate strategies, local infrastructure, employee well-being, use of resources, and long-term environmental consequences.

During the past half century, the history of American business became an unusually active and rewarding field of scholarship, partly because of the primacy of postwar American capital, at home and abroad, and the rise of a consumer culture but also because of the theoretical originality of Alfred D. Chandler. In a field long given over to banal company histories and biographies of tycoons, Chandler took the subject seriously enough to ask about the large patterns and causes of corporate success. Chandler and his students found the richest material for theorizing about the course of business history in large companies and their institutional structures and cultures. Meantime, Scranton and others found smaller firms, those specializing in batch work as opposed to mass-produced goods, far closer to the norm and more telling.

Scranton and Fridenson believe that the time has come for a sweeping rethinking of the field, its materials, and the kinds of questions its practitioners should be asking. How can this field develop in an age of global markets, growing information technology, and diminishing resources? A transnational collaboration between two senior scholars, "Reimagining Business History" offers direction in forty-four short, pithy essays.