A History of Socially Responsible Business, c.1600–1950 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance)

This book examines the changing reciprocal relationships between corporations and their various social obligations over the very long term - from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Chapters from emerging and established business historians assess the full range of social obligations that corporations held historically. By adopting an innovative methodological approach that is long-term and comparative, this book offers a challenge to the literature on corporate history and will be of interest to researchers and academics in the field of finance and business history. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv The History of Corporate Social Responsibility: Towards a Comparative and Institutional Contribution (David Chan Smith, William A. Pettigrew)....Pages 1-31 Leadership and the Social Agendas of the Seventeenth-Century English Trading Corporation (William A. Pettigrew, Aske Laursen Brock)....Pages 33-63 Socially Responsible and Responsive Business in Seventeenth-Century England (Edmond J. Smith)....Pages 65-93 Profit and Surety: The British Chartered Trading Companies and the State (Michael Wagner)....Pages 95-116 Corporate Social Responsibility and the Rise of the Non-profit Sector in America (Robert E. Wright)....Pages 117-135 Local Concerns, Global Impact: The Social Structures and Influence of Early Anglo-American Firms at Home and Abroad, 1815–1840 (Emily Buchnea)....Pages 137-155 The Distant Shareholder: Attenuated Investment and the Diffusion of Social Concerns (Janette Rutterford)....Pages 157-188 Canadian Regional and National Business Elites in 1912: Who Was Connected, Who Wasn’t and Why? (Jon Mackay)....Pages 189-212 Trust, Reputation and Regulation: Securities Markets in Europe, the USA, and Japan Before 1914 (Leslie Hannah)....Pages 213-242 Adolf Berle’s Critique of US Corporate Interests in the Caribbean Basin (Jason Russell, Andrew Smith, Kevin D. Tennent)....Pages 243-270 Social(ist) Responsibility and Communist Management in Postwar Central Europe (Philip Scranton)....Pages 271-295 Afterword: The History (and Future History) of Socially Responsible Business (Rod Lohin)....Pages 297-304 Back Matter ....Pages 305-313 Contents 7 Editors and Contributors 9 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 1 The History of Corporate Social Responsibility: Towards a Comparative and Institutional Contribution 14 2 Leadership and the Social Agendas of the Seventeenth-Century English Trading Corporation 45 References 71 3 Socially Responsible and Responsive Business in Seventeenth-Century England 76 References 102 4 Profit and Surety: The British Chartered Trading Companies and the State 105 References 125 5 Corporate Social Responsibility and the Rise of the Non-profit Sector in America 127 References 142 6 Local Concerns, Global Impact: The Social Structures and Influence of Early Anglo-American Firms at Home and Abroad, 1815–1840 146 References 161 7 The Distant Shareholder: Attenuated Investment and the Diffusion of Social Concerns 165 References 193 8 Canadian Regional and National Business Elites in 1912: Who Was Connected, Who Wasn’t and Why? 197 References 219 9 Trust, Reputation and Regulation: Securities Markets in Europe, the USA, and Japan Before 1914 221 References 244 10 Adolf Berle’s Critique of US Corporate Interests in the Caribbean Basin 251 References 275 11 Social(ist) Responsibility and Communist Management in Postwar Central Europe 279 References 301 12 Afterword: The History (and Future History) of Socially Responsible Business 304 Index 312 Annotation This volume examines the changing reciprocal relationships between corporations and their various social obligations over the very long term - from the 17th to the 20th century. Chapters from emerging and established business historians assess the full range of social obligations that corporations held historically