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The growth, development and management of J. & P. Coats Ltd, c.1890-1960: An analysis of strategy and structure

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  • Kirsten Kininmonth

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the management of one of Britain's most important multinational companies, J. & P. Coats Ltd, in the period 1890-1960, a topic which has not hitherto been examined in detail. In particular, the article examines the system of committees that the enterprise used to control and direct its disparate empire over the time period concerned. As a theoretical focus, the study compares what is found in the writings of Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., who held that, in general, British family capital and management inhibited business growth and development, especially when compared with firms in the USA. The article concludes that Coats did not fit this interpretation. It provides the first in-depth study of the management of one of Britain's largest and most successful multinational companies, clarifying the relationships between organizational structure and financial arrangements, concluding that Coats' approach to management, although in some ways unique, was appropriate to its aims.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirsten Kininmonth, 2006. "The growth, development and management of J. & P. Coats Ltd, c.1890-1960: An analysis of strategy and structure," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 551-579.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:48:y:2006:i:4:p:551-579
    DOI: 10.1080/00076790600809219
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Macrosty, Henry William, 1907. "The Trust Movement in British Industry," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number macrosty.
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    Cited by:

    1. Teresa da Silva Lopes & Mark Casson & Geoffrey Jones, 2019. "Organizational innovation in the multinational enterprise: Internalization theory and business history," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1338-1358, October.
    2. Toms, Steven, 2017. "Network preferences and the growth of the British cotton textile industry, c.1780-1914," MPRA Paper 80058, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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