Reviewed by Richard K. Fleischman John Carroll University
This volume is a collection of six essays and accompanying critiques initially presented at a Conference on Microeconomic History at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Octo-ber, 1990. As the editor notes in his introduction, the papers are linked by two unifying themes: (1) the pieces are all historical, concentrated on U.S. industry at the turn of the 20th century; and (2) the papers focus on the complexity, scarcity, and mutability of information as the “key element to the functioning of an enterprise.
The list of 13 contributors strongly represents Ivy League universities (6) and M.I.T. Professor Temin’s home institution (4). Most are members of either an economics or a history fac-ulty. Though accounting is a frequent theme as might be ex-pected in a volume dedicated to the use of information in busi-ness enterprises, the only accounting academic featured is H. Thomas Johnson as author of one of the six essays, “Managing by Remote Control: Recent Management Accounting Practice in Historical Perspective.” Notwithstanding, the substantial contri-bution made by several of these articles to our knowledge of U.S. accounting history during this period reflects the cross-fertilization potential with history (non-accounting) and economics literature.
Three of the papers are not specifically focused on accounting’s role in American information systems within the historical perspective. Raff and Temin, in making a cogent case for the synergies between business history and economics, con-sidered a number of firm histories (GM, DuPont, Campeau Cor-poration, Swift, AT&T) in advancing the point that information systems vary only incidentally to support managerial decision making in such seemingly diverse areas as organizing the work of individuals, production, and financing. Lamoreaux studied 19th century New England banking to chronicle the changing informational requirements as the industry made the transition from heavy “inside” lending early on to a vastly higher incidence of borrowing by externalities at the century’ end. DeLong addressed the issue of whether the Money Trust, as typified by J. P. Morgan and Company, added value to the substantial number of firms they controlled through interlocking directorates or whether self-enrichment was the bottom line as so frequently charged by Progressive reiormers.
Johnson’s article was a synopsis of the development of managerial accounting information systems at the Lyman textile mills, DuPont, and General Motors, and the way in which these systems lose relevance in the 1950s as they became increasingly subordinated to financial accounting requirements. I do confess to a measure of disappointment that the paper added little to what we as accounting historians have already been told in Relevance Lost. However, this venue might be the more appropriate for conveying the message to business historians and economists.
The articles by Levenstein on the maturation of cost mea-sures that accompanied the growth of the Dow Chemical Com-pany, 1890-1914, and by Yates on the Scovill Manufacturing Company as a case study illustrating the developing technology in information systems, 1850-1920, are both excellent examples of combining effective archival research with broader contextual analysis.
This work contains much good accounting history, as well as thoughtful contributions in kindred fields. The volume is nicely packaged and immaculately edited. The critiques on the various articles are conscientiously done, and raise issues for further consideration. My only criticism lies in the fact that the articles are homogeneous in terms of theoretical foundation. They are all Neoclassical in their orientation, very much in the tradition of Chandler, Williamson, and Johnson/Kaplan. Certain critical scholars may be offended by the omission of conflicting viewpoints.
