Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte (ZUG) – Inhalt 1/2008

Aufsätze (Articles):

Karsten Linne: «[…] bisher nur Sonnentage […]». Der Aufbau der Volkswagen-Händlerorganisation 1948 bis 1967, S. 5-32.

Heidrun Homburg: Financing World Football. A Business History of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), S. 33-69.

Karoline Krenn: Von der «Macht der Banken» zur Leitidee des deutschen Produktionsregimes. Bank-Industrie Verflechtung am Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts, S. 70-99.

Jonas Scherner/Jochen Streb: Wissenstransfer, Lerneffekte oder Kapazitätsausbau? Die Ursachen des Wachstums der Arbeitsproduktivität in den Werken der Deutschen Sprengchemie GmbH, 1937-1943, S. 100-122.

Abstracts

Karsten Linne: «[…] bisher nur Sonnentage […]». Der Aufbau der Volkswagen-Händlerorganisation 1948 bis 1967
(“[…] so far, only sunny days […]” Setting up Volkswagen’s dealership network, 1948-1967)

The dealership network at Volkswagen is exemplary for the automobile industry’s overall sales organisation – in other words, for the distribution of large, uniform production volumes. Volkswagen was not able to fall back on an existing dealer network after 1945 and so had to put together a new one. The great speed with which this was done brought about numerous problems and difficulties. However, the early structural decisions were even more decisive for these conflicts: the company opted for a system of independent retailers under a wholesale trade level.
The wholesale traders also worked as large retail dealers and triggered a rapidly progressing concentration process , becoming very influential economically and a power factor in their own right vis-à-vis Volkswagen. On the other hand, by neglecting their duties in looking after their dealers and garages and resisting the aspired-to decentralisation, they did not always meet with the company’s approval.
The development of the dealership network was naturally shaped by economic development, changing market conditions such as new buyer groups, the shift towards a buyer’s market and the behaviour of the competition. It was particularly the shift towards a buyer’s market that led to the turning away from the hitherto prevalent production orientation to a stronger market, sales and customer orientation, as well as to a decentralisation of the dealer and garage network, while at the same time strengthening sales promotion and advertising.

Heidrun Homburg: Financing World Football. A Business History of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
(Financing World Football. A Business History of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA))

Based on the modern business history approach this paper will analyse FIFA’s strategy and structure since its first «World’s Cup» in 1930; it will ask how the organization was restructured in the course of its growth; and it intends to show that FIFA’s organizational structure was changed in accordance with its strategic option for growth and the business success of its main product, men’s football world championship. In order to do so, the first section of the paper illustrates how FIFA’s main product and growth evolved over time; the second section analyses the composition of FIFA’s receipts as a means to illuminate FIFA’s growth strategies; and the third section follows up the impact of growth on FIFA’s organizational structure and asks when and how it was remodelled to better fit FIFA’s strategic goals. In conclusion the main findings will be discussed in relation to the long-standing, perennially renewed and vehemently expressed request that urges FIFA to improve its corporate governance.

Karoline Krenn: Von der «Macht der Banken» zur Leitidee des deutschen Produktionsregimes. Bank-Industrie Verflechtung am Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts
(From «Bank Power» to the Leitmotif of the German Production Regime:
Bank-Industry Interlocks at the Beginning of the 20th Century)

This article offers a structural analysis of corporate interlocks at the beginning of the 20th century. The key period in the formation of dense interlocks is the 1920s. The main goal is to point out that bank supervisory boards were increasingly occupied by industrialists. So, at that time it turns out to be quite contrary to Hilferding's thesis on «Bankenmacht». Supervisory boards became less an expression of «Herrschaft» of banks over industry than a space for mutual coordination and influence. Among other interlocks are institutions to create and maintain intercorporate co-operation. Therefore, the results give another proof of the specific mechanism within the German production regime. Its logic can already be identified in its formation period.

Jonas Scherner/Jochen Streb
Wissenstransfer, Lerneffekte oder Kapazitätsausbau? Die Ursachen des Wachstums der Arbeitsproduktivität in den Werken der Deutschen Sprengchemie GmbH, 1937-1943
(Knowledge Spillover, Learning-by-doing, or Investment? Explaining Labour Productivity Growth in the Plants of Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH, 1937-1943)

During World War II German armament firms increased their labour productivity considerably and consequently their production of armament goods. Exploring the annual audit reports which the auditing company Deutsche Revisions- und Treuhand AG drew up for the eight plants of the giant gunpowder producer Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH, we find out, first, that knowledge transfer from old to new plants failed, and, second, that labour productivity growth was primarily caused by localized learning-by-doing effects and investment. As a result, the increase in both productivity and production of Sprengchemie was rather a continuous microeconomic firm-level phenomenon than fostered by pivotal macroeconomic political decisions of armament minister Albert Speer after 1941.

Buchbesprechungen (Reviews)

Adam Tooze, Ökonomie der Zerstörung. Die Geschichte der Wirtschaft im Nationalsozialismus (Werner Plumpe)

Martin Münzel, Die jüdischen Mitglieder der deutschen Wirtschaftselite 1927-1955. Verdrängung – Emigration – Rückkehr (Sebastian Beck)

Boris Gehlen, Paul Silverberg (1876-1959). Ein Unternehmer (Werner Bührer)

Christoph Biggeleben, Das Bollwerk des Bürgertums. Die Berliner Kaufmannschaft 1870-1920 (Boris Gehlen)

Hartmut Berghof/Jörg (Hrsg.), Unternehmerische Netzwerke. Eine historische Organisationsform mit Zukunft? (Boris Gehlen)

Youssef Cassis, Capitals of Capital. A History of International Financial Centres, 1780-2005
(Christopher Kopper)

Jürgen Lindenlaub, Die Finanzierung des Aufstiegs von Krupp. Die Personengesellschaft Krupp im Vergleich zu den Kapitalgesellschaften Bochumer Verein, Hoerder Verein und Phoenix 1850-1880 (Karl-Peter Ellerbrock)

Elfriede Grunow-Osswald, Die Internationalisierung eines Konzerns. Daimler-Benz 1890-1997 (Kilian J.L. Steiner)

Claire-Aline Nussbaum/Laurent Tissot (Hrsg.), Suchard. Entreprise familiale de chocolat 1826-1938. Naissance d´une multinationale Suisse (Kim Priemel)

Sonja Neudörfer, Tradiertes Erfahrungswissen und arbeitsteilige Produktionsnetzwerke. Der Schönbacher Geigenbau im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Bruno Arich-Gerz)

Jürgen Büschenfeld, Boge – Ein Familienunternehmen aus Bielefeld (Harald Wixforth)

Klaus Ammann, Christian Engler, Husten, Schmerz und Kommunismus. Das Basler Pharmaunternehmen F. Hoffmann-La Roche in Osteuropa, 1896-1957 (Tobias Straumann)

Bettina Hinterthür, Noten nach Plan. Die Musikverlage in der SBZ/DDR – Zensursystem, zentrale Planwirtschaft und deutsch-deutsche Beziehungen bis Anfang der 60er Jahre (Armin Müller)

Wolfgang Lotz, Die deutsche Post von der Postreform I bis zum Börsengang 1989-2000 (Benjamin Obermüller)