ABSTRACT
During the twentieth century, Italy and Spain were only similar countries at a superficial level. Although they share a common background made up of a glorious past followed by large-scale decline and a significant industrial delay at the end of the nineteenth century, the empirical evidence gathered on their large corporations shows that several differences can be detected between them in terms of the pattern of industrialization and the development of big business. Several factors, which are deep-rooted, contribute to our understanding of the different environments in which companies developed throughout the twentieth century, and thus of their particular features.
