New research methods of business history

Business history, while not clearly established or widely recognized, is an open framework that can include in addition to issues related to the evolving economy, business, market and business, other areas of institutional, cultural and social, related to contemporary events resulting from the long process of industrialization. The first industrial revolution began in the late eighteenth century, the next highest industrial processing of the second half of the nineteenth century, the mass industrialization of the twentieth century and the new post-Fordist landscape of the twenty-first century are the historical landmarks that anchor the activities of a phenomenon that has accompanied the various stages of development of the world economy and, over time characterized by the primacy of capitalist production Buoyancy. Not to deny that in earlier times there have been significant events or structures and there were also areas of significant value to the business history, but want to say that the central focus for the growth of this area is the spread of the capitalist system within industry, agriculture, services, accounting and finance. In summary, business history is an essential element, in terms of quality, for understanding the economic fabric of a country, consistently dynamic and comparative.Business History; Traditional methods of study; New methodologies for research; Open Innovation; Long Tail;

Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well.Nuovo meridionalismo; SVIMEZ; policies for development; Southern Question; industrialisaton;

Sulle origini, sull'evoluzione e sullo stato dell'arte della Storia della Contabilità in Spagna. (Origin, evolution and state of the art of Accounting History in Spain).

El objetivo general de este trabajo es el de ofrecer un perfil completo de los orígenes, la evolución y el multiforme desarrollo de la historia de la contabilidad en España, así como de su posible evolución futura. Haciendo referencia a las actividades científicas y a los estudios más recientes se ha intentado mostrar el notable grado de desarrollo alcanzado por esta disciplina, gracias entre otras cosas a la sinergia lograda por la colaboración entre las instituciones académicas y las organizaciones profesionales, una característica particular de la experiencia española. Inserto en un cuadro de síntesis general, se ofrece el relato de esta experiencia, que ha conseguido situar la historia de la contabilidad española y sus representantes en el primer lugar del concierto europeo. The general purpose of this paper is to offer a complete profile of the origins, the evolution and the multiform development of accounting history in Spain, as well as the possible directions of its future evolution. Making reference to the scientific activities and the most recent studies it has been tried to show the remarkable degree of development reached by this discipline, thanks among other things to the synergy obtained by the collaboration between the academic institutions and the professional organizations, a particular characteristic of the Spanish experience. Inserted in a general picture of synthesis, this paper offers an account of this experience, an experience that has been able to locate the Spanish accounting history and its representatives in the first place of the European environment.Historia de la contabilidad, España, estado de la cuestión, perspectivas. Accounting history, Spain, state of the art, prospects of future development.

Sulle origini, sull'evoluzione e sullo stato dell'arte della Storia della Contabilità in Spagna

The general purpose of this paper is to offer a complete profile of the origins, the evolution and the multiform development of accounting history in Spain, as well as the possible directions of its future evolution. Making reference to the scientific activities and the most recent studies it has been tried to show the remarkable degree of development reached by this discipline, thanks among other things to the synergy obtained by the collaboration between the academic institutions and the professional organizations, a particular characteristic of the Spanish experience. Inserted in a general picture of synthesis, this paper offers an account of this experience, an experience that has been able to locate the Spanish accounting history and its representatives in the first place of the European environment. In order to obtain its objective, the paper has made a wide use of documentary sources, with constant reference to writings and Spanish texts on the matter. It has also been resorted long to the electronic sources, of fundamental importance not only by the innovating value of this technology considered in itself, but also by the possibilities that offer for a constant and precise putting to the day of the scientific data and the set of initiatives in relation to the Spanish accounting history. Throughout the paper the diverse original documents, normative and treatises, essential to reconstruct the different stages from accounting history, have been taken in consideration as well as the studies conducted on such. In this way it has been tried to present, step by step, a general picture of the Spanish accounting historiography, that will serve to locate and to interpret better the value of the sources and the indicated evidences. To the object to contribute to this objective, at the end of the text a wide bibliography has also been arranged, that reveals the remarkable amount - and quality of texts available on the matter.El objetivo general de este trabajo es el de ofrecer un perfil completo de los orígenes, la evolución y el multiforme desarrollo de la historia de la contabilidad en España, así como de su posible evolución futura. Haciendo referencia a las actividades científicas y a los estudios más recientes se ha intentado mostrar el notable grado de desarrollo alcanzado por esta disciplina, gracias entre otras cosas a la sinergia lograda por la colaboración entre las instituciones académicas y las organizaciones profesionales, una característica particular de la experiencia española. Inserto en un cuadro de síntesis general, se ofrece el relato de esta experiencia, que ha conseguido situar la historia de la contabilidad española y sus representantes en el primer lugar del concierto europeo. Para conseguir su objetivo, el trabajo ha hecho un amplio uso de fuentes documentales, con constante referencia a los escritos y a los textos españoles sobre la materia. También se ha recurrido largamente a las fuentes electrónicas, de fundamental importancia no sólo por el valor innovador de este tecnología considerada en sí misma, sino asimismo por las posibilidades que ofrece para una constante y puntual puesta al día de los datos científicos y del conjunto de iniciativas en relación con la historia española de la contabilidad. A lo largo del artículo se han tomado en consideración los diversos documentos originales, normativas y tratados, esenciales para reconstruir las distintas etapas de la historia contable, así como también los estudios efectuados sobre los mismos. De este modo se ha pretendido construir, paso a paso, un cuadro general de la historiografía contable española, que sirva para situar e interpretar mejor el valor de las fuentes y las evidencias señaladas. Al objeto de contribuir a este objetivo, al final del texto se ha dispuesto también una amplia bibliografía, que revela la notable cantidad -y calidad- de los textos disponibles sobre la materia

Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well

New research methods of business history

Business history, while not clearly established or widely recognized, is an open framework that can include in addition to issues related to the evolving economy, business, market and business, other areas of institutional, cultural and social, related to contemporary events resulting from the long process of industrialization. The first industrial revolution began in the late eighteenth century, the next highest industrial processing of the second half of the nineteenth century, the mass industrialization of the twentieth century and the new post-Fordist landscape of the twenty-first century are the historical landmarks that anchor the activities of a phenomenon that has accompanied the various stages of development of the world economy and, over time characterized by the primacy of capitalist production Buoyancy. Not to deny that in earlier times there have been significant events or structures and there were also areas of significant value to the business history, but want to say that the central focus for the growth of this area is the spread of the capitalist system within industry, agriculture, services, accounting and finance. In summary, business history is an essential element, in terms of quality, for understanding the economic fabric of a country, consistently dynamic and comparative

Rischio e incertezza in una dimensione storica. Le dinamiche dell’economia di fronte agli scenari della nuova pandemia

Abstract The current Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly calling into question the functioning models of both the economy and society at large that until recently were taken for granted. This challenge is urging scholars and research centres to ponder the perspectives of the globalization process which started at the end of the XXth Century. Such considerations are spurred by the scope of the impact that Coronavirus is having on the economy, which goes beyond the temporary interruption of commercial exchanges and the disruption to the mobility of people. The pandemic is creating a sense of insecurity which has few precedents in the current age, pervading wider and wider sectors of the population, whose future now appears confused. According to several authors, this crisis is momentous in scope and may have an effect comparable to, if not greater than, that of the 2008 and 1929 economic crises. This essay aims to set the current emergency phase within a historical perspective by analysing the concepts of risk and uncertainty as characterizing features of the economic processes, because of their connection to several endogenous and exogenous factors, to the production structure, and to the actions of the forces operating within society. The historical dimension of this phenomenon does not concern so much the permanence of these two concepts in different epochs, but rather the way they present themselves, their incidence on economy and development processes, their interpretation by scholars and operators, as well as the consequences they have on the organization of society and the life of individuals

Business history in Italy and the new digital frontiers: archives and IT sources

Over the last decade or so, business history – like many other disciplines – has had to come to terms with far-reaching innovations in scientific knowledge, communication and information, brought about by the arrival and rapid diffusion of the World Wide Web. These changes have had even greater impact in a field like archival science that uses a complex and stratified memory. For this reason, it is extremely important to analyze the current state of Italian IT sources for business history

Nuove prospettive per la storia d'impresa

La historia de la empresa es una disciplina abierta que puede incluir, además de las cuestiones relacionadas con la evolución de la economía, las empresas, el mercado y el mundo empresarial, otros ámbitos institucionales, culturales y sociales relacionados con los acontecimientos contemporáneos como resultado de un largo proceso de industrialización. La primera revolución industrial se inició a finales del siglo XVIII, seguida por una profunda transformación industrial que tuvo lugar en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, la industrialización masiva del siglo XX y el nuevo escenario post-fordista del siglo XXI son los hitos históricos de un fenómeno que ha acompañado las diferentes etapas de desarrollo y la economía mundial durante el período que se caracterizó por la supremacía de la producción capitalista. En resumen, la historia de la empresa es un elemento esencial, en términos de calidad, para la comprensión de la estructura económica de un país desde una perspectiva dinámica y un punto de vista comparativo. No es sorprendente que, a comienzos del siglo XX la historia de la empresa saltó de los Estados Unidos en relación con el modelo del "big business", como un análisis y un profundo examen de la actividad, incluso de un aspecto crítico, se dirigió a algunos tipos de desarrollo y estrategias de la empresa. Como está escrito por Alfred D. Chandler: «La historia de la empresa apareció por primera vez como distinguible sub-campo de la historia económica a finales de los 1920 y en los 1930. Su predecesor, la historia económica, se convirtió en una disciplina identificable sólo unos años antes». La primera Cátedra de Historia de la Empresa se activó en 1927 en la Harvard Business School, y fue cubierta hasta mediados del siglo pasado por Norman SB Gras, que se ha decidido dividir la historia de la empresa en seis periodos diferentes: “Pre-business capitalism”, “Petty capitalism”, “Mercantile capitalism”, “Industrial capitalism”, “Financial capitalism”, “National capitalism”. Después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Joseph Schumpeter y Arthur H. Cole han fundado el Center for Research in Entrepreneurial History, donde especialistas como Alfred D. Chandler, Thomas Cochran y Landes David fueron capacitados. Ellos estuvieron involucrados en el análisis de la iniciativa empresarial, la relación entre empresas y la sociedad, el papel de la innovación, la relación entre estrategia y estructura, y la capacitación para las organizaciones. Por lo tanto, la experiencia de Estados Unidos sirvió como marcador de pauta en muchos otros Países, donde la historia de la empresa había conocido una amplia difusión de la segunda mitad del siglo pasado. La posibilidad de utilizar archivos corporativos de una manera sistemática ha comenzado a entrar en vigor en Alemania desde 1907, cuando el Archivo de Renania-Westphalisch se estableció. Esto se ha convertido en un punto de referencia para la apertura de instituciones similares en muchos Países. En términos generales, las fuentes para la historia de la empresa se pueden dividir en cuatro tipos diferentes: los generados por la propia empresa -clasificada en primaria y secundaria-, las originadas fuera de la empresa -por ejemplo, las instituciones públicas, sindicatos y asociaciones- y las fuentes orales. La metodología tradicional de investigación en Historia de la Empresa se centra en el uso de las fuentes principales, representadas, sobre todo, de los archivos de empresas. El advenimiento de la "sociedad de la información", no sólo se centra en el cambio de paradigmas tradicionales económico, sino también un profundo replanteamiento de la producción científica, y la distribución del conocimiento. La introducción y el uso de fuentes electrónicas no es un mero efecto de sustitución de antiguos instrumentos, sino una ayuda extraordinaria para seguir avanzando en una disciplina como la historia de la empres

Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well