Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria

Research output: Book/ReportBook

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

British multinationals faced unprecedented challenges to their organizational legitimacy in the middle of the twentieth century as the European colonial empires were dismantled and institutional transformations changed colonial relationships in Africa and other parts of the world. This book investigates the political networking and internal organizational changes in five British multinationals (United Africa Company, John Holt & Co., Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Bank of West Africa and Barclays Bank DCO). These firms were forced to adapt their strategies and operations to changing institutional environments in two English-speaking West African countries, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) and Nigeria, from the late 1940s to the late 1970s. Decolonization meant that formerly imperial businesses needed to develop new political networks and change their internal organization and staffing to promote more Africans to managerial roles. This postcolonial transition culminated in indigenization programmes (and targeted nationalizations) which forced foreign companies to sell equity and assets to domestic investors in the 1970s. Postcolonial Transition and Global Business History is the first in-depth historical study on how British firms sought to adapt over several decades to rapid political and economic transformation in West Africa.

Exploring both postcolonial transitions and development discourse, this book addresses the topics with regard to business and economic history and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of organizational change, political economy, African studies, and globalization.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherRoutledge
Number of pages198
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781003001058
ISBN (Print)9780367428105
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2022

Publication series

NameRoutledge International Studies in Business History
PublisherRoutledge

Keywords

  • Business history
  • Ghana
  • Nigeria
  • Multinational companies
  • Decolonization
  • independence
  • West Africa

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • Africanization in Companies and the Civil Service

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 32 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  • African Managers in British Businesses

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transition and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 25 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  • Conclusion

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 4 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  • Corporate Political Activities before and after Independence

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 32 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  • Indigenization Programmes and Organizational Legitimacy

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 31 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  • Introduction

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 20 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

    1 Downloads (Pure)
  • Organizational Legitimacy and the Development Discourse

    Decker, S., 30 Nov 2022, Postcolonial Transitions and Global Business History: British Multinational Companies in Ghana and Nigeria. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 27 p. (Routledge International Studies in Business History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Cite this