Interorganizational Relationships in Medieval Trade

An Analysis of the Hanseatic League

Bibliographic Data

ID12968192
AuthorsEric G Kirb (Texas State University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume15
Issue2
Pages1-1
Publication date2023-03-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReview of European Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1918-7173 • E-ISSN: 1918-7181
PublisherCanadian Center of Science and Education (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5539/res.v15n2p1
OpenAlexW4380142852
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

The Hanseatic League was a commercial federation of guilds and cities in the Baltic region that dominated trade in northern Europe during the later Middle Ages. At its peak, it linked traders and market towns from England to Russia and most ports in between. It worked to remove trade barriers and provide security to its members. Employing an analytically structured approach, this study analyzes secondary sources to investigate the relationships between the members of the Hanse as well as the primary motivations driving the formation of the Hanseatic League. When this is analyzed as a federation style of interorganizational relationship, the five defining key contingencies become apparent: (1) power asymmetries in the High Middle Ages existed for the merchants with the balance of power in favor of monarchs; (2) individual guilds found it beneficial to establish ongoing relationships with other guilds; (3) economies of scope and scale allowed for efficiencies that would lead to trade dominance; (4) merchants sought more stable and predictable open access to markets across northern Europe; and (5) with the decline of feudalism, guilds sought to increase the acceptance and privilege of their community. The Hanseatic League’s formation was also based on a sixth key factor: security for its members

Dominance (genetics · Economics · Economy · Feudalism · League · Political science · Politics · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access