ABSTRACT
To provide an overarching framework for the cases, the book harnesses insights derived from economic theory and business history. Specifically, it applies and extends the economics of information to analyse these interfirm structures explicitly in systemic terms. This approach exposes questions to guide an evaluation of past practices. Further, the study mobilises business history in order to reveal different devices and techniques that were employed in the past to support communication and co-operation in a variety of specific contexts. The findings provide a basis for filling gaps in the theory and for expanding its parameters.
