Global Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the History of Light and Power, 1878-2007 (Cambridge Studies in the Emergence of Global Enterprise) [Hardcover]

William J. Hausman (Author), Peter Hertner (Author), Mira Wilkins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521880351 | ISBN-13: 978-0521880350 | Publication Date: April 7, 2008 | Edition: 1st

This book examines how multinational enterprises and international finance influenced the course of electrification around the world. Multinational enterprises played a crucial role in the spread of electric light and power from the 1870s through the first three decades of the twentieth century. Their role did not persist, as over time they exited through "domestication" (buy-outs, confiscations, or other withdrawals), so that by 1978 multinational enterprises in this sector had all but disappeared, replaced by electrical utility providers with national business structures. Yet, in recent years, there has been a vigorous revival. This book, a unique cooperative effort by the three authors and a group of experts from many countries, offers a fresh analysis of the history of multinational enterprise, taking an integrative approach, not simply comparing national electrification experiences, but supplying a truly global account.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This extensively documented study will be of value not only to scholars interested in the electric industry, but to those studying multinational enterprises, technological diffusion, globalization, and modern history. Highly recommended." -Choice

"...an impressively researched history of international finance and multinational companies in the development of the electric utility industry." -Christopher Jones, Techonology and Culture

"...the first objective study of Hoechst." -Anthony Stranges, Techonology and Culture

"This is a very fine history of multinational enterprise and finance. Economic, business, and international historians interested in the last century will find much new information and rigorous analysis of electrification in it most correct, global setting."
EH.net, Michael Edelstein, Queens College

Book Description

This book examines how from the late 1870s multinational enterprises and international finance influenced the spread of electrification around the world. The early and significant impact of multinational enterprises did not persist; by 1978 multinational enterprises had been replaced by electrical utility providers with national business structures. Yet, in recent years, there has been a vigorous revival of multinational enterprise in the provision of light and power. This unique cooperative effort by the three authors and a group of experts from many countries offers a fresh historical analysis.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 487 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (April 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521880351
• ISBN-13: 978-0521880350
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,482,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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