This book, the first comprehensive history of the INternational Basic Economy Corporation, draws upon the recently opened records of IBEC, the personal papers of Rodman Rockefeller, and interviews with more than twenty former executives. It demonstrates that the IBEC experiment did succeed in defining the limitis within which every subsequent "company with a mission" would have to work.
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Book Description
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About the Author
Kenneth D. Durr is Executive Vice-President and director of the History Division at History Associates Incorporated in Rockville, Maryland. He is the author of several works of twentieth-century economic and political history, including Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Postwar Baltimore, 1940-1980.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A decent book about a company with a confused mission,
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This review is from: A Company With a Mission: Rodman Rockefeller and The International Basic Economy Corporation 1947 - 1985 (Hardcover)
Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) is primarily remembered as an American politician (Governor of New York state (1959-1973) and Vice President (1974-1977)). His first public office was Coordinator of Interamerican Affairs (1940-1944) which awakened his life long interest in Latin America. Pursuant to that interest he founded the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC) in 1947 with the twin goals of making profitable investments in Latin America which would also improve social conditions. The inherent conflict between wanting to do good and wanting to make money would be unresolved over the life of the company. His son, Rodman Rockefeller (1932-2000)served as President or CEO of IBEC from 1968-1980. Most of IBEC's operations were subsequently sold and IBEC itself was merged out of existence in 1985.
This book, by Kenneth Durr, is advertised as the first history of IBEC. Technically this is true since it covers the entire life of the company. However Dartmouth professor Wayne Broehl wrote a book ("International Basic Economy Corporation") which covered IBEC's activities up to 1966. Broehl detailed IBEC's difficulties in introducing new concepts (i.e. supermarkets, hybrid seeds, modular housing) into traditional societies but he deliberately avoided all issues regarding personalities. Kenneth Durr expands this to include the subsequent history of IBEC and the personalities of those running the company. The IBEC story is an interesting one but the company itself ultimately failed. There were several contributing factors including activities which were more socially beneficial than economic, businesses which failed because they did not adapt to local cultures, too wide a range of activities and countries, management conflict between those with social versus business agendas, changing governments etc. The book was written with the support of Rodman Rockefeller's family and in this regard the author faced some challenges. Rodman Rockefeller was clearly more interested in the social development aspect of IBEC's mandate but, as head of the company, was responsible for delivering the business results. He comes across as a decent individual, with a strong sense of social responsibility and some vision (i.e. interest in genetics), but ultimately inappropriate as a business leader. The author retains his integrity and addresses this issue, albeit somewhat soft and fuzzy. The world has changed since IBEC was formed and globalization, both cultural and economic, makes much of the story less relevant. The author does much to promote IBEC and Rodman Rockefeller as pioneers in corporate social responsibility. There is an element of truth in this but I suspect that the book will primarily be read by those interested in the Rockefeller family and/or economic development in Latin America. The writing itself is clear and readable but I think a few appendices (i.e. company financial results by year) might have provided more context.
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