The emergence of the joint-stock companies in the Dutch Republic and their democratic elements in business

Economou, Emmanouel/Marios/Lazaros and Kyriazis, Nicholas (2019): The emergence of the joint-stock companies in the Dutch Republic and their democratic elements in business.

Abstract

In the present essay we analyse the emergence of joint-stock companies during the 16th and 17th centuries in business (the Dutch partenrederij), and the VOC East India Companies). We suggest that in the Dutch Republic (DR) characterised by relative weak central authority, market solutions were found to solve organisation problems and these solutions, the first joint-stock companies, are efficient but also democratic in their structure. The DR demonstrate that democratic elements emerge in parallel in the economy (sometimes even preceding) and in the political field, which can be mutually reinforcing.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Joint-stock companies, Dutch Republic, Democratic elements in business
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L22 - Firm Organization and Market Structure; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L24 - Contracting Out ; Joint Ventures ; Technology Licensing; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M1 - Business Administration > M10 - General; N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics ; Industrial Structure ; Growth ; Fluctuations > N13 - Europe: Pre-1913

References

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