Examines the evolving strategies and structure of large European firms in a comparative and historical context. In particular, it looks at these in the context of a range of hypotheses on professional management, multidivisional structure and diversification associated with Alfred Chandler.

1. Change, Context, and the Corporation ; 2. Chandler and Context ; 3. Scale, Scope, and Structure ; 4. Corporate Careers and Control ; 5. Changing Strategies ; 6. Changing Structures ; 7. Strategy, Structure, and Politics ; 8. Concluding for the Corporation ; Appendix I Strategic and Structural Classification of French, German, and United Kingdom Firms ; Appendix II Methodology

`This volume which can easily be slipped into a briefcase is to be recommended to the business executive who wants to know "why" as well as "what"' European Business Review, Vol.13, No.5 `a handsomely produced volume, with an exemplary array of the usual critical apparatus, including a comprehensive index' European Business Review, Vol.13, No.5 `Almost 40 yeares after the publication of the seminal Strategy and Structure; Chapters in the History of the Industrial Enterprise, by Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., its rightful European heir has finally arrived.' Industrial Relations Journal, 32,5, 2001 `This is the definitive European work on the Harvard (Chandler) model of the strategy and structure of large corporations. After a balanced survey of alternatives and a measured denunciation of the excesses of Chandler's caricatures, Whittington and Mayer relentlessly confront the theory with empirical evidence and unmodishly but convincingly reaffirm the power of the Chandlerian insights on diversification and multidivisionals.' Professor Leslie Hannah, Chief Executive, Ashridge `The book represents a monumental achievement in the field of management studies. It is a must read for researchers in organisation theory, culture and strategy fields. It is also an extremely useful reference source and aid for teaching in these areas. Chandler would be proud.' Industrial Relations Journal, 32, 5, 2001 `One purpose of this impressive historical study of evolving strategies and structures of the European corporation "is to rescue Chandler from Chandlerism".... Whittington and Mayer, by properly taking the Chandler model as "a provisional and adaptive concept of the firm", have followed the studies of the Harvard Group on the strategies and structures of European firms in the 1960s to provide a description and analysis of corporate evolution over the next three decades. They do so in ways that can provide "enduring and widely-relevant foundations to the management sciences". This is indeed an important book.' Professor Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., Emeritus Professor at Harvard Business School `The book raises several intriguing issues in the area of corporate strategy. I particularly liked the authors' emphasis on the quality of the top management team as a key factor in corporate competitiveness' Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ) `The authors are particularly good at providing a rich context within which we can begin to understand the importance of the large corporation as a distinctive human invention that shapes and is shaped by history' Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ) `Today, the massive majority of large industrial firms in these countries have adopted the multidivisional form. This is the conclusion of Whittington and Mayer's lively and intriguing book, a book that offers challenges and insights for everyone engaged in comparative and historical organizational research.' Martin Kilduff, Administrative Science Quarterly `It asks big questions, is written in a vivid and engaging style, provides an unusual historical perspective and is certain to provoke debate about the challenges of social science and the future of the large corporations that dominate research in our field.' Martin Kilduff, Administrative Science Quarterly

Original research combining long-run trends with mini case studies on the evolution of large European firms Includes analysis of the work of Alfred Chandler and his followers Presents detailed research from the UK, Germany, and France Snap-shot profiles of major companies such as Daimler Benz, Volkswagen, BAT, Rhone Poulenc, Unilever, Elf Aquitane, etc. Managerially-relevant advice on effective patterns of diversification and new forms of organization

Richard Whittington is University Reader in Strategy at the Saïd Business School and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford. He was formerly Lecturer in Organizational Analysis at Imperial College and Reader in Marketing and Strategic Management at the University of Warwick. He is author of 'Corporate Strategies in Recession and Recovery' (Unwin Hyman) and 'What is Strategy-and Does it Matter?' (Routledge), as well as articles in a variety of journals. He is Associate Editor of the British Journal of Management and on the editorial boards of Long Range Planning and Organization Studies.; Michael Mayer is a Lecturer in Strategic and International Management at the University of Glasgow. He has published articles in Organization Studies, the European Management Journal, and Industrial and Corporate Change.

Original research combining long-run trends with mini case studies on the evolution of large European firms Includes analysis of the work of Alfred Chandler and his followers Presents detailed research from the UK, Germany, and France Snap-shot profiles of major companies such as Daimler Benz, Volkswagen, BAT, Rhone Poulenc, Unilever, Elf Aquitane, etc. Managerially-relevant advice on effective patterns of diversification and new forms of organization