The contest for control
Subtitle: metal industries in Sheffield, Solingen, Remscheid and Eskilstuna during industrialization
By: Lars Magnusson.
Publisher: Berg
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Oxford, UK; Providence, RI, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 223
Subjects: Cutlery trade -- England -- History -- 19th century -- Case studies.; Cutlery trade -- Germany -- History -- 19th century -- Case studies.; Cutlery trade -- Sweden -- History -- 19th century -- Case studies.
Genres: Case studies.
Description: This study of a specific industry's survival and growth in three countries is a useful resource for research on industrial development in 19th-century Europe. Presenting the history of three major cutlery districts in Western Europe during the 19th century - Sheffield in England, Bergische land (Solingen and Remscheid) in Germany, and Eskilstuna in Sweden - the author focuses on each region's industrial development vis-a-vis its socio-cultural context.

This work challenges the flexible specialization thesis often used to explain the seeming persistence of small-scale and decentralized production within the cutlery industry since the 19th century, and argues that growing businesses had to develop competitive strategies for control over important resources.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.