New Book: "Deutschland AG", ed. by Ralf Ahrens, Boris Gehlen, Alfred Reckendrees

The book asks for the origins and the development of “Germany Inc.” since the 19th century. The term "Deutschland AG" is used to describe the corporate network. of large joint stock companies of the German industry, banks, and insurances organized by cross shareholdings, interlocking directorates, and long term credit relationships. For more than a century, this structure has saved German companies from hostile takeovers and international capital markets, but it has rapidly dissolved since the mid 1990s.

14 articles from Historians, Political Scientists, and Sociologists provide a coherent overview of the development of the large scale companies' corporate network from the mid 19th to the late 20th century. With a focus on the core period between 1960 and 1990, the internal mechanisms of the network and its boundaries are analyzed. The major question is if and how cross shareholdings and interlocking directorates have been used for coordinating corporate strategies and competition.

"Deutschland AG". Historische Annäherungen an den bundesdeutschen Kapitalismus, ed. By Ralf Ahrens, Boris Gehlen, Alfred Reckendrees (Bochumer Schriften zur Unternehmens- und Industriegeschichte, Band 20), Essen: Klartext 2013, 39,95 €, ISBN: 978-3-8375-0986-1 http://www.klartext-verlag.de/bookdetail.aspx?ISBN=978-3-8375-0986-1