Michael Aldous
Biographic Data
| ID | 1108711 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Aldous |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Aldous |
| SIGNATURE | ALDOUS M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queen's University Belfast |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 29 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
British CEOs in the Twentieth Century: Aristocratic Amateurs to Fat Cats
This article uses a prosopographical methodology and new dataset of 1,558 CEOs from Britain’s largest public companies between 1900 and 2009 to analyze how the role, social background, and career pathways of corporate leaders changed. We have four main findings. First, the designation of CEO only prevailed in the 1990s. Second, the proportion of socially elite CEOs was highest before 1940, but they were not dominant. Third, most CEOs did not have…
The anatomy of a bubble company: The London Assurance in 1720
The London Assurance Company (LA), which incorporated during the bubble of 1720, experienced more dramatic price movements in its shares than the South Sea Company. This paper examines how incorporating during the bubble affected its long run performance. We show that the bubble in the Company's share price was partly attributable to changes in market structure during the share issuance process. As a result of the bubble, the Company's original s…
From traders to planters: The evolving role and importance of trading companies in the 19 th century Anglo-Indian Indigo trade
Globalisation in the late--nineteenth century was driven by expansion of global commodity trades. These processes are predominantly explained as the result of changes in technology and policy. Less attention is paid to the trading companies undertaking these activities. To understand their importance in global trade this article examines their role in the significant Anglo-Indian indigo trade. It reveals they innovated their organisation and stru…
Was Marshall Right? Managerial Failure and Corporate Ownership in Edwardian Britain
Alfred Marshall argued that the malaise of public companies in Edwardian Britain was due to the separation of ownership from control and a lack of professional management. In this paper, we examine the ownership and control of the c.1,700 largest British companies in 1911. We find that most public companies had a separation of ownership and control, but that this had little effect on their performance. We also find that manager characteristics th…
Examining the Role of a Private-Order Institution in Global Trade: The Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association and the Crowning of King Cotton, 1811–1900
In the nineteenth century, the Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association (CBA) coordinated the dramatic growth of Liverpool's raw cotton market. This article shows how the CBA achieved this through the development of a private-order institutional framework that improved information flows, introduced standardization and contracting regimes, and regulated market exchange platforms. These developments corresponded with significantly improved market coor…
Reassessing Fera: Examining British firms’ strategic responses to ‘Indianisation’
The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, introduced in India in 1973, was the culmination of efforts to ‘Socialise’ economic policies and ‘Indianise’ corporate ownership. It resulted in a flight of foreign capital as Multinational Enterprises exited India to avoid these risks, finally driving out long-established British commercial interests. This article uses new sources to reassess how British businesses perceived the threats of Indianisation and a…
Partners, Servants, or Entrepreneurs? Banians in the Nineteenth-Century Bengal Economy
Banians acted as intermediaries for European merchants in Bengal. They were highly influential in the eighteenth century but their importance waned thereafter. This article reexamines their role in the nineteenth century and argues that their importance persisted but evolved in response to changes in the Bengal economy and issues of contracting and governance. It shows that the banians remained a nexus between the local and global economies, faci…
An Incomplete Revolution: Corporate Governance Challenges of the London Assurance Company and the Limitations of the Joint-Stock Form, 1720–1725
The London Assurance (LA) was incorporated in 1720, marking a significant innovation in the marine insurance industry. Contemporaries anticipated joint-stock firms such as the LA would rapidly outcompete private underwriters, yet this outcome did not occur. The success of the private underwriters has been ascribed to their organizational form. This paper reassesses these explanations and finds that, rather than an a priori worse business model, v…
Rehabilitating the intermediary: Brokers and auctioneers in the nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian trade
The complications of long-distance trade restricted the expansion of the Anglo-Indian trade in the first half of the nineteenth century. The take-off occurred after 1850, and can be correlated to the growing number of brokers and auctioneers. This article analyses the role and effects of these intermediaries, drawing on information economics theory. A new data-set shows that volatility in supply, demand and price of indigo was reduced by half as …
Avoiding “Negligence and Profusion”: The Ownership and Organization of Anglo–Indian Trading Firms, 1813–1870
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Avoiding Negligence and Profusion: The Failure of the Joint-Stock Form in the Anglo-Indian Tea Trade, 1840–1870
In the nineteenth century, firms operating in the Anglo-Indian tea trade were organized using a variety of ownership forms, including partnership, joint-stock, and a combination of the two, known as the managing agency. Faced with both an increasing need for fixed capital and high agency costs caused by the distance between owners and managers, the firms adapted and increasingly adopted the hybrid managing agency model to overcome these problems.…
Avoiding Negligence and Profusion: The Failure of the Joint-Stock Form in the Anglo-Indian Tea Trade, 1840–1870
In the nineteenth century, firms operating in the Anglo-Indian tea trade were organized using a variety of ownership forms, including partnership, joint-stock, and a combination of the two, known as the managing agency. Faced with both an increasing need for fixed capital and high agency costs caused by the distance between owners and managers, the firms adapted and increasingly adopted the hybrid managing agency model to overcome these problems.…
Rehabilitating the intermediary: Brokers and auctioneers in the nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian trade
The complications of long-distance trade restricted the expansion of the Anglo-Indian trade in the first half of the nineteenth century. The take-off occurred after 1850, and can be correlated to the growing number of brokers and auctioneers. This article analyses the role and effects of these intermediaries, drawing on information economics theory. A new data-set shows that volatility in supply, demand and price of indigo was reduced by half as …
British CEOs in the Twentieth Century: Aristocratic Amateurs to Fat Cats
This article uses a prosopographical methodology and new dataset of 1,558 CEOs from Britain’s largest public companies between 1900 and 2009 to analyze how the role, social background, and career pathways of corporate leaders changed. We have four main findings. First, the designation of CEO only prevailed in the 1990s. Second, the proportion of socially elite CEOs was highest before 1940, but they were not dominant. Third, most CEOs did not have…
Examining the Role of a Private-Order Institution in Global Trade: The Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association and the Crowning of King Cotton, 1811–1900
In the nineteenth century, the Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association (CBA) coordinated the dramatic growth of Liverpool's raw cotton market. This article shows how the CBA achieved this through the development of a private-order institutional framework that improved information flows, introduced standardization and contracting regimes, and regulated market exchange platforms. These developments corresponded with significantly improved market coor…
From traders to planters: The evolving role and importance of trading companies in the 19 th century Anglo-Indian Indigo trade
Globalisation in the late--nineteenth century was driven by expansion of global commodity trades. These processes are predominantly explained as the result of changes in technology and policy. Less attention is paid to the trading companies undertaking these activities. To understand their importance in global trade this article examines their role in the significant Anglo-Indian indigo trade. It reveals they innovated their organisation and stru…
Was Marshall Right? Managerial Failure and Corporate Ownership in Edwardian Britain
Alfred Marshall argued that the malaise of public companies in Edwardian Britain was due to the separation of ownership from control and a lack of professional management. In this paper, we examine the ownership and control of the c.1,700 largest British companies in 1911. We find that most public companies had a separation of ownership and control, but that this had little effect on their performance. We also find that manager characteristics th…
An Incomplete Revolution: Corporate Governance Challenges of the London Assurance Company and the Limitations of the Joint-Stock Form, 1720–1725
The London Assurance (LA) was incorporated in 1720, marking a significant innovation in the marine insurance industry. Contemporaries anticipated joint-stock firms such as the LA would rapidly outcompete private underwriters, yet this outcome did not occur. The success of the private underwriters has been ascribed to their organizational form. This paper reassesses these explanations and finds that, rather than an a priori worse business model, v…
The anatomy of a bubble company: The London Assurance in 1720
The London Assurance Company (LA), which incorporated during the bubble of 1720, experienced more dramatic price movements in its shares than the South Sea Company. This paper examines how incorporating during the bubble affected its long run performance. We show that the bubble in the Company's share price was partly attributable to changes in market structure during the share issuance process. As a result of the bubble, the Company's original s…
Reassessing Fera: Examining British firms’ strategic responses to ‘Indianisation’
The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, introduced in India in 1973, was the culmination of efforts to ‘Socialise’ economic policies and ‘Indianise’ corporate ownership. It resulted in a flight of foreign capital as Multinational Enterprises exited India to avoid these risks, finally driving out long-established British commercial interests. This article uses new sources to reassess how British businesses perceived the threats of Indianisation and a…
Avoiding “Negligence and Profusion”: The Ownership and Organization of Anglo–Indian Trading Firms, 1813–1870
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Avoiding Negligence and Profusion: The Failure of the Joint-Stock Form in the Anglo-Indian Tea Trade, 1840–1870
In the nineteenth century, firms operating in the Anglo-Indian tea trade were organized using a variety of ownership forms, including partnership, joint-stock, and a combination of the two, known as the managing agency. Faced with both an increasing need for fixed capital and high agency costs caused by the distance between owners and managers, the firms adapted and increasingly adopted the hybrid managing agency model to overcome these problems.…
Avoiding “Negligence and Profusion”: The Ownership and Organization of Anglo–Indian Trading Firms, 1813–1870
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Rehabilitating the intermediary: Brokers and auctioneers in the nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian trade
The complications of long-distance trade restricted the expansion of the Anglo-Indian trade in the first half of the nineteenth century. The take-off occurred after 1850, and can be correlated to the growing number of brokers and auctioneers. This article analyses the role and effects of these intermediaries, drawing on information economics theory. A new data-set shows that volatility in supply, demand and price of indigo was reduced by half as …
An Incomplete Revolution: Corporate Governance Challenges of the London Assurance Company and the Limitations of the Joint-Stock Form, 1720–1725
The London Assurance (LA) was incorporated in 1720, marking a significant innovation in the marine insurance industry. Contemporaries anticipated joint-stock firms such as the LA would rapidly outcompete private underwriters, yet this outcome did not occur. The success of the private underwriters has been ascribed to their organizational form. This paper reassesses these explanations and finds that, rather than an a priori worse business model, v…
Partners, Servants, or Entrepreneurs? Banians in the Nineteenth-Century Bengal Economy
Banians acted as intermediaries for European merchants in Bengal. They were highly influential in the eighteenth century but their importance waned thereafter. This article reexamines their role in the nineteenth century and argues that their importance persisted but evolved in response to changes in the Bengal economy and issues of contracting and governance. It shows that the banians remained a nexus between the local and global economies, faci…
Examining the Role of a Private-Order Institution in Global Trade: The Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association and the Crowning of King Cotton, 1811–1900
In the nineteenth century, the Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association (CBA) coordinated the dramatic growth of Liverpool's raw cotton market. This article shows how the CBA achieved this through the development of a private-order institutional framework that improved information flows, introduced standardization and contracting regimes, and regulated market exchange platforms. These developments corresponded with significantly improved market coor…
Reassessing Fera: Examining British firms’ strategic responses to ‘Indianisation’
The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, introduced in India in 1973, was the culmination of efforts to ‘Socialise’ economic policies and ‘Indianise’ corporate ownership. It resulted in a flight of foreign capital as Multinational Enterprises exited India to avoid these risks, finally driving out long-established British commercial interests. This article uses new sources to reassess how British businesses perceived the threats of Indianisation and a…
From traders to planters: The evolving role and importance of trading companies in the 19 th century Anglo-Indian Indigo trade
Globalisation in the late--nineteenth century was driven by expansion of global commodity trades. These processes are predominantly explained as the result of changes in technology and policy. Less attention is paid to the trading companies undertaking these activities. To understand their importance in global trade this article examines their role in the significant Anglo-Indian indigo trade. It reveals they innovated their organisation and stru…
Was Marshall Right? Managerial Failure and Corporate Ownership in Edwardian Britain
Alfred Marshall argued that the malaise of public companies in Edwardian Britain was due to the separation of ownership from control and a lack of professional management. In this paper, we examine the ownership and control of the c.1,700 largest British companies in 1911. We find that most public companies had a separation of ownership and control, but that this had little effect on their performance. We also find that manager characteristics th…
British CEOs in the Twentieth Century: Aristocratic Amateurs to Fat Cats
This article uses a prosopographical methodology and new dataset of 1,558 CEOs from Britain’s largest public companies between 1900 and 2009 to analyze how the role, social background, and career pathways of corporate leaders changed. We have four main findings. First, the designation of CEO only prevailed in the 1990s. Second, the proportion of socially elite CEOs was highest before 1940, but they were not dominant. Third, most CEOs did not have…
The anatomy of a bubble company: The London Assurance in 1720
The London Assurance Company (LA), which incorporated during the bubble of 1720, experienced more dramatic price movements in its shares than the South Sea Company. This paper examines how incorporating during the bubble affected its long run performance. We show that the bubble in the Company's share price was partly attributable to changes in market structure during the share issuance process. As a result of the bubble, the Company's original s…
Business (10 works) · Historical Economic and Social Studies (10 works) · Economics (8 works) · Finance (6 works) · Colonialism, slavery, and trade (4 works) · Corporate governance (4 works) · Economy (4 works) · Finance (4 works) · Market economy (4 works) · Accounting (3 works)