Investigaciones de Historia Economica最新文献

In the context of limited historical economic studies on the implementation of modern food distribution in Spain, an analysis is made of the main changes in this industry using the case of Aragon over the last half century (1960-2010). A study is presented on the changes in its commercial forms, both wholesalers and retailers, and the declining evolution of local commercial capital due to the growing role of large retail distribution groups. The strong process of corporate concentration and internationalisation of the sector was particularly intense from the 1990s when business mergers accelerated the virtual disappearance of local capital with the growing presence of corporate large retail distributors in Aragon. The Aragonese case shows a remarkable and early presence of foreign investment in major local businesses and later implementation of the large groups. The sector in Aragon, increasingly located in Zaragoza, has specialised in the supermarket format.

This article examines the physiognomy of the large non-financial Spanish companies during the crisis of 1929 using an original source, consisting of a compilation of accounting material from companies that had their values pledged by the Bank of Spain. The international literature teaches us that the crisis underpinned the flourishing of great companies; while the weakest ones disappeared, the modern companies survived. The large Spanish companies resembled and behaved similarly to European companies during the Depression. However, a duality may be observed in Spain between stable companies and other larger but more fragile ones. The obsolescence of some sectors, the volatility of international demand, the discretionary behaviour of public demand, and its own organisational performance, explain most of these differences.

This article discusses the trans-nationalisation of the Spanish economy during the 1980s from a sectoral, short-term, and business history perspective. It examines the impulse of new companies in the field of advanced technologies through strategic alliances between multinationals and the Spanish National Telephone Company, a semi-public monopoly, with the determined support of the State. All of this fits into a triple change in depth and within the framework of the Third Industrial Revolution. Finally, the article relies predominantly on primary sources and oral testimony supported by significant secondary sources, and some added elements to establish a comparative perspective. It is structured into four sections, comprising forming a re-industrialisation policy, the industrial holding as an engine, the microelectronics revolution, and new forming of partnerships with multinationals.

This paper focuses on the impact of the discipline of Global History in recent decades, paying particular attention to studies on consumption and circulation of new goods in European and Asian markets. The main objective of this article is, therefore, to present a historiographical review on the impact of Global History, in which it can be observed that, in the case of studies on consumption, in particular, has had an obvious Eurocentric focus. The analysis of the British world, and its colonies, as engine of the first industrialisation, has been one of the main causes that have led towards such Eurocentric focus. This approach began to change with the growing interest in the study of China and its role in the world economy. Thus, this essay presents a historiographical review of both spaces, concluding with a comparative case study between Macau and Marseille as trans-national ports. This project is in its preliminary phases; therefore, it is only showing the principal lines.

This article uses a case study to explore the birth and deployment of the household appliance sector in Spain during the country's major economic development between 1960 and 1975. On the back of this growth cycle, Orbaiceta SA became one of Spain's most dynamic and innovative firms. Brand reputation was achieved through the reinvestment of profits and aggressive market penetration. Once it had consolidated its position as the domestic market leader, the company launched an internationalisation strategy. It took over plants in financial difficulties, albeit with a high technological content. One fifth of its production was sold abroad. However, this expansion failed due to the economic crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s, exacerbated by the political uncertainty of the period of transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy. Over-borrowing bankrupted the Group, which was bailed out with public funds. Following a process of industrial restructuring, the company was sold to the German multinational BSH.