Business in Britain in the Twentieth Century

Richard Coopey teaches history across a range of economic, social, technological and political areas. His current research interests include the history of the popular music industry, and the economic history of water resources.

Peter Lyth has taught economic and transport history in Britain, Israel and the United States. His research interests are chiefly in transport and airline history, as well as aircraft and aero engine manufacturing.

This collection of fresh, incisive scholarship, by some of the leading business historians, critically examines the nature of economic recovery in Britain in recent years. Covering the key issues for business history in this period, this overview confronts the traditional literature's conclusions and simplistic explanations.

Introduction: British Business in the Twentieth Century: What Sort of Decline, What Sort of 'Renaissance'? ; 1. Strategic Games, Scale, and Efficiency, or Chandler goes to Hollywood ; 2. Industrial Policy in Twentieth Century Britain ; 3. Business in the Regions: From 'Old' Districts to 'New' Clusters? ; 4. Elites, Entrepreneurs, and British Business in the Twentieth Century ; 5. Invisible Entrepreneurs? Women and Business in Twentieth Century Britain ; 6. From a Solution to a Problem? Overseas Multinationals in Britain during Economic Decline and Renaissance ; 7. British Management since 1945: 'Renaissance' and Inertia, Illusions and Realities ; 8. Not 'Decline and Revival': An Alternative Narrative on British Post-War Productivity ; 9. Marketing Management in Britain: What Is the Evidence for 'Failure'? ; 10. British Retail Banking in the Twentieth Century: Decline and Renaissance in Industrial Lending ; 11. The Decline and Renewal of British Multinational Banking ; 12. Back to the Future: The Aircraft and IT Industries in Britain since 1945 ; 13. Industrial Research and the Employment of Scientists in British Industry before the 1970s ; 14. Increasing Value? Modern British Retailing in the Late Twentieth Century ; 15. Predicting, Providing, Sustaining, Integrating? British Transport Policy since 1945 ; 16. The Film Industry in Twentieth Century Britain: Consumption Patterns, Government Regulation, and Firm Strategy ; 17. British Sport Transformed: Sport, Business, and the Media since 1960 ; 18. Ethics, Religion, and Business in Twentieth Century Britain