Kartellek és menedzserek. Vállalatközi együttműködés a vas- és acéliparban (1886–1931)
Cartels and Managers. Inter-firm Relations in Iron and Steel Cartels, 1886–1931

Summary/Abstract: There were two periods of cartelization in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In the first period until 1900, the low level of inter-firm cooperation hindered effective protection of the internal and export markets. In 1902 new iron and steel cartels were formed in the Monarchy. Institutions were established in order to inspire confidence and better cooperation. Both the Austrian and the Hungarian cartels were created on the same principles, and shared the same organizational structure that made joint operation possible. The newly formed common iron cartel reached significant results. Price decline was stopped and a compromise on the protection of the domestic markets could be reached with Germany and other major European producers. After World War I, iron and steel producers of the successor states revived former cooperation relatively early. Long-standing personal contacts and common interests helped to alleviate serious problems caused by World War I and the peace treaties. International cartels aimed to stabilize steel production and prices by reconstructing market structures of the period before 1914. These efforts, however, were nsuccessful. Changes in the institutional and political environment, the resulting lack of confidence and economic depression made well functioning inter-firm cooperation impossible.

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