Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Management Unit, Harvard Business School. He previously taught at the universities of Cambridge and Reading, and at the London School of Economics, in the U.K. He is the author and editor of many books and articles on the history of international business, including British Multinational Banking 1830-1990 (OUP 1993). He is a former President of both the European Business History Association and the Business History Conference of the United States, is co-editor of the journal Business History Review, and editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Business History.

• 1. Trading Companies in Theory and History ; 2. Foundations ; 3. From Trade to Investment ; 4. Trading in Crisis ; 5. Concentration and Diversification ; 6. Business Groups ; 7. Governance and Human Resources ; 8. External Relationships ; 9. Natural Resources ; 10. Traders as Manufacturers ; 11. End Game ; 12. Conclusion ; Appendix 1. Post-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1895-1998 ; Appendix 2. Pre-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1948-1998 ; Appendix 3. Sources for calculations on capital employed of British trading companies

... good source material replete with a lot of case studies as to how the British trading companies have evolved to make their mark over globabl trade and become common household names today.

Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Management Unit, Harvard Business School. He previously taught at the universities of Cambridge and Reading, and at the London School of Economics, in the U.K. He is the author and editor of many books and articles on the history of international business, including British Multinational Banking 1830-1990 (OUP 1993). He is a former President of both the European Business History Association and the Business History Conference of the United States, is co-editor of the journal Business History Review, and editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Business History.

• 1. Trading Companies in Theory and History ; 2. Foundations ; 3. From Trade to Investment ; 4. Trading in Crisis ; 5. Concentration and Diversification ; 6. Business Groups ; 7. Governance and Human Resources ; 8. External Relationships ; 9. Natural Resources ; 10. Traders as Manufacturers ; 11. End Game ; 12. Conclusion ; Appendix 1. Post-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1895-1998 ; Appendix 2. Pre-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1948-1998 ; Appendix 3. Sources for calculations on capital employed of British trading companies

... good source material replete with a lot of case studies as to how the British trading companies have evolved to make their mark over globabl trade and become common household names today.

Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Management Unit, Harvard Business School. He previously taught at the universities of Cambridge and Reading, and at the London School of Economics, in the U.K. He is the author and editor of many books and articles on the history of international business, including British Multinational Banking 1830-1990 (OUP 1993). He is a former President of both the European Business History Association and the Business History Conference of the United States, is co-editor of the journal Business History Review, and editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Business History.

• 1. Trading Companies in Theory and History ; 2. Foundations ; 3. From Trade to Investment ; 4. Trading in Crisis ; 5. Concentration and Diversification ; 6. Business Groups ; 7. Governance and Human Resources ; 8. External Relationships ; 9. Natural Resources ; 10. Traders as Manufacturers ; 11. End Game ; 12. Conclusion ; Appendix 1. Post-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1895-1998 ; Appendix 2. Pre-tax return on net capital employed of selected British trading companies, 1948-1998 ; Appendix 3. Sources for calculations on capital employed of British trading companies

... good source material replete with a lot of case studies as to how the British trading companies have evolved to make their mark over globabl trade and become common household names today.