Research Seminar in Business History (Chaire Kurgan-van Hentenryk)

The teaching blocks are as follows:

1. General introduction to Business History; research methods; content outline

2. Waves of globalization and technological revolutions

3. The firm in (post-) industrialized economies

3.1. Family firms and industrial districts during the Industrial Revolution

3.2. The American large enterprise

3.3. The large enterprise in West Europe

4. Firms’ development in East Asia

4.1. The Multinational Enterprise

4.2. The Enterprise in Japan: between competition and cooperation

4.3. The enterprise in late industrialised countries

5. A selection of business case-studies with special guests and / or workshop (attendance is compulsory)

The learning objectives referring to knowledge are as follows:

— To become familiar with the most significant historical stages in the development of businesses, from the pioneering efforts of wholesale merchants on the Silk Route to the two big waves of globalization that have taken place in the world from the second half of the 19^th century to the present.

— To understand the most important theories that have contributed to analyzing and understanding the evolution of businesses from a long-term perspective.

— To identify the variety of models of internationalization that have appeared throughout history, including those developed by large multinationals, small and medium-sized companies and business networks.

— To analyze the main external determinants of success or failure affecting a variety of businesses in different periods and territories of the world, with particular attention to the dynamic and changing role of the State and the financial system.

— To learn how to use concepts to make sense of and generalize about the wide variety of cases of internationalization involving businesses in a range of sectors and historical periods.

— To be able to do individual research to write, individually or in teams, case studies of business history that takes into account exogenous as well as endogenous factors.

Cours ayant celui-ci comme co-requis

This course focuses on relevant issues from the research in business history. Activities will consist of aprox. 18 hours of student interaction in the classroom (9 classes of two hours each) and 12 hours of independent student work. The course has nine topics broken down in four successive sections. Each topic will be developed in the classroom in an ex-cathedra-type lessons during the first three sections. The last section consists of presentations made by guest scholars of their current research in business history. These presentations are made in order to show students how to undertake a proper research in the field. The last section may also include the full program of an international workshop in business history.

Contribution to the teaching profile

The competences to be gained in this course are as follows:

• Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis, synthesis, to adopt global perspective and to apply knowledge in practice).

• Capacity to communicate in English and/or other foreign languages orally and in writing, comprehension skills, and mastery of specialized language.

• Capacity to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

• Understanding of the structure and operation of international markets, to detect the potential implications of increasing internationalization and the new global framework.

• Understanding of the culture and business practices of different countries, as the basis for adapting to an interacting effectively with other geopolitical contexts.

• Knowledge of international economic institutions and understanding of their role in the context of international economic relations.

• Comprehensive understanding of the international economic, legal and socio-political framework, and ability to use this knowledge to oversee international business decisions.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Chandler, Alfred D. Jr., “The coming of the modern industrial corporation,” in The Visible Hand. The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), 1977, pp. 287-314.

Jones, Geoffrey, Multinationals and global capitalism, from the nineteenth to the twenty-twenty first century, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.

Landes, David, The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1968.

Contacts

Tomàs Fernández de Sevilla <Tomas.Fernandez.De.Sevilla@ulb.ac.be>

Office R42.5.202

Telephone number: 02 650 3369

Method(s) of evaluation

• Other

Other

From 2017 onwards, the assessment will be done through a written examination. Topics that will be assessed are threefold: the contents and key ideas of the lectures, the presentations done by guest scholars (case-studies), and the individual report of the workshop. Further guidelines will be provided in class on a yearly basis.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

• Written exam (80%)

• Class and workshop active attendance (20%)

Language(s) of evaluation

• english