Expected learning outcomes
The course informs students about the history of entrepreneurs, firms, and business systems, including the influence hereon of innovation, globalisation, and government regulation. Students will be familiarised with the historical emergence of factory production; why certain firms grew large and others did not; and why models alternative to mass production existed and survived. Students will also achieve an understanding of whether successful entrepreneurs are unique (larger-than-life) characters or simply anyone with a proper training background in business management.
Learning objectives
The course is interested in the history of entrepreneurs, firms, and business systems, including the subjects of innovation, globalisation, and regulation. Students will be familiarised with the emergence of factory production, why some firms grew large and others did not; the importance of different shapes of firm organisation in history; and why alternative models to mass production existed and survived.
Rather than a set of hands-on tools, the course provides an overview of the development of firms and business in the context of the centuries-long process of industrialisation in the western world. This includes a chronological tour of the history of firms and businesses from pre-industrial times until today, and the theories attempting to explain it.
Starting with the pre-industrial era and the first Industrial Revolution in England, the course then moves via the second Industrial Revolution focused mainly on the United States to the third Industrial Revolution regarded from a global and multinational perspective. Emphasis is on ‘big business’ among the major players in history – the UK, the US and Japan alongside industrial runner-ups, such as Germany, France, Italy, and Russia – as well as emerging economies, such as China and India.
Textbook
Franco Amatori and Andrea Colli (2011), Business History: Complexities and Comparison, Routledge. Any edition is fine.
Timetable:
Start: 24 February 2026
End: 22 May 2026
Lectures: Tuesday (14-16, Room 9A) and Friday (10-12, Room 9A)
Resources for students:
Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTYyMzU1NTAxOTMw
Password: ozih76hd