Louis Galambos is Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and the editor of The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower. He is the coauthor of Networks of Innovation (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Fall of the Bell System (Cambridge University Press, 1996), Anytime, Anywhere (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and Medicine, Science, and Merck (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Takashi Hikino is an historian who has published many articles on international business and economic history. Educated at Wakayama and Hitotsubashi Universities in Japan, he has been a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Business School and a Research Fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies. He currently teaches at Kyoto University in Japan. Vera Zamagni has been Visiting Professor of European Economic History at the Bologna Centre of the Johns Hopkins University since 1973. Her published work consists of more than 70 essays, 7 volumes and 13 edited volumes covering the economic history of Italy 1860 to present in the context of European and world economic history of the last two centuries.

• Introduction Takashi Hikino, Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Part I. Cross Cutting Ideas: 1. The evolution of networks in the chemical industry Alfonso Gambardella, Fabrizio Cesaroni and Myriam Mariani; 2. Competitive strategies of the world's largest chemical companies Harm Schröter; 3. Financial systems and corporate strategy in the chemical industry Marco Da Rin; 4. Government environmental policies and the chemical industry Wyn Grant; Part II. World Players: Leaders: 5. The German chemical industry after World War II Ulrich Wengenroth; 6. The American chemical industry since the petrochemical evolution John Kenly Smith; Part III. Competitors: 7. The export-dependence of the Swiss chemical industry and the internationalization of Swiss chemical firms (1950–2000) Margrit Müller; 8. The petrochemical industry in the Nordic countries, 1960–2000: some development patterns Gunnar Nerheim; 9. Repositioning of European chemical groups and changes in innovation management: the case of the French Chemical Industry Florence Charue Duboc; 10. The resilience of the British Chemical Industry Wyn Grant; 11. The development and struggle of the Japanese chemical enterprises since the petrochemical revolution Takashi Hikino; Part IV. European Followers: 12. The rise and fall of the Italian petrochemical industry (1950s–1990s) Vera Zamagni; 13. The global accommodation of a latecomer: the Spanish chemical industry since the petrochemical revolution; Conclusion: some final observances Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Appendix I. The chemical industry in the post Second World War period: a quantitative assessment Renato Giannetti; Appendix II. Selected bibliography.

Louis Galambos is Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and the editor of The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower. He is the coauthor of Networks of Innovation (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Fall of the Bell System (Cambridge University Press, 1996), Anytime, Anywhere (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and Medicine, Science, and Merck (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Takashi Hikino is an historian who has published many articles on international business and economic history. Educated at Wakayama and Hitotsubashi Universities in Japan, he has been a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Business School and a Research Fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies. He currently teaches at Kyoto University in Japan. Vera Zamagni has been Visiting Professor of European Economic History at the Bologna Centre of the Johns Hopkins University since 1973. Her published work consists of more than 70 essays, 7 volumes and 13 edited volumes covering the economic history of Italy 1860 to present in the context of European and world economic history of the last two centuries.

• Introduction Takashi Hikino, Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Part I. Cross Cutting Ideas: 1. The evolution of networks in the chemical industry Alfonso Gambardella, Fabrizio Cesaroni and Myriam Mariani; 2. Competitive strategies of the world's largest chemical companies Harm Schröter; 3. Financial systems and corporate strategy in the chemical industry Marco Da Rin; 4. Government environmental policies and the chemical industry Wyn Grant; Part II. World Players: Leaders: 5. The German chemical industry after World War II Ulrich Wengenroth; 6. The American chemical industry since the petrochemical evolution John Kenly Smith; Part III. Competitors: 7. The export-dependence of the Swiss chemical industry and the internationalization of Swiss chemical firms (1950–2000) Margrit Müller; 8. The petrochemical industry in the Nordic countries, 1960–2000: some development patterns Gunnar Nerheim; 9. Repositioning of European chemical groups and changes in innovation management: the case of the French Chemical Industry Florence Charue Duboc; 10. The resilience of the British Chemical Industry Wyn Grant; 11. The development and struggle of the Japanese chemical enterprises since the petrochemical revolution Takashi Hikino; Part IV. European Followers: 12. The rise and fall of the Italian petrochemical industry (1950s–1990s) Vera Zamagni; 13. The global accommodation of a latecomer: the Spanish chemical industry since the petrochemical revolution; Conclusion: some final observances Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Appendix I. The chemical industry in the post Second World War period: a quantitative assessment Renato Giannetti; Appendix II. Selected bibliography.

Louis Galambos is Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and the editor of The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower. He is the coauthor of Networks of Innovation (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Fall of the Bell System (Cambridge University Press, 1996), Anytime, Anywhere (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and Medicine, Science, and Merck (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Takashi Hikino is an historian who has published many articles on international business and economic history. Educated at Wakayama and Hitotsubashi Universities in Japan, he has been a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Business School and a Research Fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies. He currently teaches at Kyoto University in Japan. Vera Zamagni has been Visiting Professor of European Economic History at the Bologna Centre of the Johns Hopkins University since 1973. Her published work consists of more than 70 essays, 7 volumes and 13 edited volumes covering the economic history of Italy 1860 to present in the context of European and world economic history of the last two centuries.

• Introduction Takashi Hikino, Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Part I. Cross Cutting Ideas: 1. The evolution of networks in the chemical industry Alfonso Gambardella, Fabrizio Cesaroni and Myriam Mariani; 2. Competitive strategies of the world's largest chemical companies Harm Schröter; 3. Financial systems and corporate strategy in the chemical industry Marco Da Rin; 4. Government environmental policies and the chemical industry Wyn Grant; Part II. World Players: Leaders: 5. The German chemical industry after World War II Ulrich Wengenroth; 6. The American chemical industry since the petrochemical evolution John Kenly Smith; Part III. Competitors: 7. The export-dependence of the Swiss chemical industry and the internationalization of Swiss chemical firms (1950–2000) Margrit Müller; 8. The petrochemical industry in the Nordic countries, 1960–2000: some development patterns Gunnar Nerheim; 9. Repositioning of European chemical groups and changes in innovation management: the case of the French Chemical Industry Florence Charue Duboc; 10. The resilience of the British Chemical Industry Wyn Grant; 11. The development and struggle of the Japanese chemical enterprises since the petrochemical revolution Takashi Hikino; Part IV. European Followers: 12. The rise and fall of the Italian petrochemical industry (1950s–1990s) Vera Zamagni; 13. The global accommodation of a latecomer: the Spanish chemical industry since the petrochemical revolution; Conclusion: some final observances Vera Zamagni and Louis Galambros; Appendix I. The chemical industry in the post Second World War period: a quantitative assessment Renato Giannetti; Appendix II. Selected bibliography.