| Research Abstract |
The aim of this research was to clarify how industrial undertakings in colonial India developed economic institutions/corporate organizations to coordinate the input/output transactions of businesses. Toward this end, this research focused on the development of economic institutions/corporate organizations for acquiring long-term capital and industrial labour of companies belonging to the three main industries in India in the first half of the twenties century ; cotton mill, jute mill and iron and steel industries. An analysis of the extent of development was conducted, mainly on the basis of archival evidence from the TISCO Archives at Jamshedpur, Tata Central Archives at Pune, Maharashtra State Archives at Mumbai, West Bengal State Archives at Kolkata, National Archives of India at New Delhi, British Library, School and Oriental and Asian Studies Library, LSE library, Dundee University Archives, and Glasgow University Archives.
The main results of the research were as follows.(1) The
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leading sources of long-term capital for business enterprises from the three main industries were depreciation funds and reserve funds, in addition to various types of share capital. In colonial India, while share capital was considered the only source of long-term capital for industrialundertakings, depreciation funds and reserve funds developed, in similar extent, as other sources of long-term capital. This finding urges us to reconsider the accepted view.(2) Business enterprises from the three main industries transformed the labour management system from an indirect system to a direct one in the 1920s and 1920s. Under the indirect system, a company subcontracted the management of labour such as the recruitment, promotions, and discharge, especially of the lower class of labour, to the foreman or supervisors ; under the direct system, the company took direct responsibility for the management of the labour. The research also ascertained that, while attempting to introduce a scientific labour management system and by training the lower class of labour during this transformation, the companies had to suffer the consequences of labour strikes, especially in the 1920s.
The research also investigated the development of a direct sales network of business enterprises to help in mass production to meet the demands of consumers. Further, the policies of colonial government influenced the development of economic institutions/corporate organizations as well as the efficiency of business enterprises from the three main industries. Some results from this research have already been published in referred papers.
I have received constructive and encouraging comments from a number of researchers. I would like to thank them for their kind consideration of my research. Needless to say, all the mistakes and shortcomings are mine. Less
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