This article examines the attempts of several generations of manufacturers of cooking and heating appliances to manage competition in their very unconcentrated industry. They started with overt price-fixing, which soon failed, then moved on to a variety of more effective techniques—particularly joint regulation with the aid of a strong craft union, and the adoption of uniform cost-accounting and price-setting systems. The article illuminates the numerous ways in which a trade association could make cartel-like behavior work in an industry whose structural characteristics were apparently unfavorable and also the importance of state intervention to shaping and eventually limiting this strategy.

This article argues that a cultural and narrative perspective can enrich the business history field, encourage new and different questions and answers, and provide new ways of thinking about methods and empirical material. It discusses what culture is and how it relates to narratives. Taking a cultural and narrative approach may affect questions, sources, and methodologies, as well as the status of our results. Finally, a narrative approach may contribute to our historical understanding of entrepreneurship and globalization.

Most of the academic work on the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) has focused on sociopolitical and military affairs; few scholars have considered the economic aspects of the period. Even though business historians know now that the Revolution did not bring generalized chaos or total destruction of manufacturing, we still need more research on economic issues. This article analyzes the evolution of the businesses of the Braniff family, as well as their involvement in politics once the regime of Porfirio Díaz collapsed. It examines the Braniffs' political ideas, their strategies to gain power, and their support of the political faction favorable to their interests. The article exposes the tactics the family used to guarantee the safety of their businesses, the losses they suffered, and the new ventures they made after the Revolution.

The Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree of 1972, which was promulgated in Nigeria after the country gained its independence from Britain, put in place a framework for the varied transfer of equity ownership of expatriate businesses to Nigerians. The decree was replaced by a more stringent order in 1977. Despite the extensive research on the Nigerian indigenization episode, there have been few studies on the role of the British government in the entire exercise. This paper, using newly available evidence from the National Archives London, investigates the role played by the British government during the indigenization episode. Evidence in this paper suggests that the British government explored various strategies, orthodox and unorthodox, in its bid to protect British business interests in Nigeria during the period.

In Japan, the integrated circuit (IC) industry has led the way technologically for many other manufacturing industries. According to interviews with key persons at NEC, Tōshiba, and Fujitsu, IC firms' codevelopment with calculator and communication equipment companies greatly contributed to the strong competitiveness of the Japanese IC industry. However, the codevelopment between IC suppliers and their customers in the Japanese calculator markets also helps explain why the competitiveness of Japanese IC industry has been weakened since the late 1990s. The interfirm relations between Japanese IC suppliers and customers and its effects were not so simple and one-sided. The case of Japan's IC industry can be applied to other Japanese industries.